Jeremy Deller does not have a studio. Rather, the Turner Prize-winning artist, who in 2013 represented Britain at the Venice Biennale, operates from what he calls a 'work room' in his fourth-floor flat on Holloway Road, N7. The walls are studded with pictures, relics and curiosities. A yellow smiley face relates to his combining a brass band with acid-house anthems for his 1997 Acid Brass performance - and to his occasional turn as a DJ. A puzzle of Stonehenge references Sacrilege, his life-sized inflatable model of the prehistoric megalithic structure, which toured the country during the Olympics in 2012. And there is a cutout of Rod Stewart; Jeremy co-directed the video for Rod and Jools Holland's 2024 hit Pennies from Heaven. 'I'm interested in what happens when people come together,' Jeremy says, of the collaborative ideals that link an output straddling establishment approval and maverick practice.
This year, he is organising a series of happenings across the UK, The Triumph of Art, culminating in July in London with what he calls 'a giant party or festival' for The National Gallery's 200th birthday. The first, in Derry, Northern Ireland, will be on April 19; others will follow in Dundee, Llandudno and Plymouth. These will unite makers, musicians and 'people who do things', explains Jeremy, who believes in 'the magic and power of art to transform a moment'. There are further strands to his practice that will be incorporated, including banners - for which he works with banner maker Ed Hall - and posters, designed with Fraser Muggeridge.
During the 2024 UK election campaign, readers might have spotted examples of Jeremy's other collaborations with Fraser on public billboards. Some of this work can also be bought, for £30-£50, as small, signed philanthropic prints. Thank God For Immigrants has raised money for Refugee Council and Revoke. 'Doing them feels like a job - in a good way and I like the distribution of work,' says Jeremy, mentioning the Pop artists ‘who sold stuff comparatively cheaply’. Jeremy spent the summer of 1986 at Pop-art supremo Andy Warhol's The Factory in New York, at Warhol's invitation. 'Now that was a studio.' says Jeremy. ‘He taught me that, as an artist, you can do exactly what you want. You make your own world.' The name of the room you do it from is, arguably, irrelevant.
‘The Triumph of Art’ ends on July 26 in Trafalgar Square, WC2: nationalgallery.org.uk. His commission for the Wild Eye trail in Yorkshire, 'Roman Mosaic c. 2025', opens in late April: wildeye.org.uk | derryplayhouse.co.uk | dundee.ac.uk/djcad | mostyn.org: | theboxplymouth.com | jeremydeller.org
