Grayson Perry, The Pre-Therapy Years

Edwin views Grayson Perry's work

Grayson Perry is one of my heroes, so when Edwin invited Ann and me to visit a retrospective of his early work, I was thrilled. The exhibition, The Pre-Therapy Years, is at the Sainsbury gallery at UEA, Norwich. The first part of the exhibition contains modern and abstract work by a number of artists, but entering the Perry display was truly mind-blowing: unlike any of his modern work yet clearly foretelling the direction he was going. The vast majority is his trademark pottery, with which he combines pictorial art and poetry in arresting juxtaposition, using the clay forms as other artists might use a canvas or notebook. The works question any pre-existing mores of sexuality, emphasising so often his inner feminine being, Claire. Throughout the work, he seems to question not just who he is, but also who Clare is, as though searching for her character through a wealth of feminine role models. The whole exhibition is thrilling, yet faintly disturbing. These were the pre-therapy years, stretching back to a period of nearly forty years ago, when he was still freshly wounded from childhood traumas. It is interesting to compare the work with his recent post-therapy work; much calmer, less distressing, yet with an ever emerging technique in handling his chosen clay medium. 

Grayson Perry Plate

In the evening we dined at a wonderful vegan restaurant in Norwich - with some of the best food I have tasted, vegan or otherwise. The whole day out more than compensated for our poor start to the year.

But on Sunday, we had the biggest surprise of all. We had lunch at the Hundon Plough: a fine nut roast with all trimmings. We indulged ourselves with plenty of wine, desserts, and liqueur coffees afterwards. I went to the bar to pay, but the lady said, "There's nothing to pay. Lucy has paid it!" Lucy had phoned the restaurant and paid for our meal on the phone! Unbelievable and a wonderful surprise and treat. The lady added, "I wish I had a daughter like that." "We have," we said, "she's wonderful."