| C U L T U R E | “I am in the communication business and I want to communicate to as wide an audience as possible. Nothing pleases me more than meeting someone at one of my exhibitions from what museum people call‘a non-traditional background.’” A new Channel 4 documentary Grayson Perry: What Britain Wants broadcast this summer followed Perry as he created another work for the exhibition: an attempt to capture the thoughts of a divided country a year after the EU referendum. Using social media, Perry invited the entire British public to contribute ideas, images and phrases to cover the surface of two enormous new pots: one for the Brexiteers and one for the Remainers. So, even if you feel a little tired and dazed by politics this summer, don’t let that put you off. Perry has a unique knack of finding the inspirational and deeply human side to any subject and be reassured that the star of the exercise is always the quirky, stylish and beautiful objects he produces. it makes extraordinary television. And as if by magic, by the end of each programme Perry has created a piece of work in which his hosts can see themselves, as though in an other-worldly mirror. The resulting ceramic pots, prints and sculptures are being displayed this summer in his show‘The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever!’at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington. To really get the maximum out of your visit, track down the series on Channel 4s website if you can, so each creation can be understood all the more. Refreshingly honest and unpretentious, Perry describes his role as artist in simple egalitarian terms, I am in the communication business and I want to communicate to as wide an audience as possible SERPENTINE GALLERY Kensington Gardens W2 3XA w: www.serpentinegalleries.org Animal Spirit, 2016 Woodcut printed, Heritage White, Courtesy the Artist, Paragon Press and Victoria Miro, London Puff Piece, 2016, Glazed ceramic, Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro, London THE RIVER MAGAZINE | Summer 2017 31