Good Sailing

This was a semi-permanent vinyl commissioned for the launch of the new Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, in 2011.

The gallery is based on Mann Island in Liverpool's docks and the bold, colourful, design is based on 'Dazzle Camouflage' designs of the First World War. Many of the ships painted with this design were painted in these docks. Through applying this design to the exterior of an art gallery it notionally hides it in plain sight.

At their best, art galleries are embraced by our cities and also function as agitators; spaces where difficult questions can be asked. The quote in the work are the final words of the well-known naturalist and political agitator, Henry David Thoreau. The difficult questions that galleries are in a position to ask are the kinds of questions he spent his life asking.

Read the about the project on the Open Eye Gallery website or a small feature on the It's Nice That website.