Jeremy Deller: English Magic

Jeremy Deller’s English Magic ran from 12 April – 21 September 2014 and reflected the Turner Prize winning artist’s interest in the diverse nature of British culture: its people, icons, folklore, history and politics.

Over 117,000 visitors encountered a magical assembly of large-scale murals, drawings, photographs, film, and historical materials. The exhibition took you on a journey back and forth through time with references to events real and imagined, including workers’ strikes, the Iraq war and the Ziggy Stardust tour.

There were installations and commissions made in direct response to the museum’s own collections, including paintings of the Bristol Riots of 1831 by William James Muller and a display of taxidermy, handpicked by Deller.

You can see some photos of the exhibition while it was at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery below. You can also listen to a recording of the Tea with Jeremy Deller event which took place on 11 June 2014.

Jeremy Deller represented the UK with English Magic at the 2013 Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious contemporary art event. This critically acclaimed exhibition tours the UK for the first time in the Biennale’s history. The other venues on the tour are William Morris Gallery (18 January – 30 March 2014) and Turner Contemporary (11 October 2014 – 11 January 2015).

Watch Deller talk about the exhibition in the video below.

Jeremy Deller’s English Magic was commissioned by the British Council for the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2013.

The UK tour of the exhibition is supported by the Art Fund, the national fundraising charity for art and Arts Council England. The tour is the first of its kind and will enable audiences across the country to see the exhibition at the William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow; Bristol Museum & Art Gallery; and Turner Contemporary, Margate.

Image credits: © Jamie Woodley