Grayson Perry: Divided Britain
CHANNEL 4, 9.00PM
These days if you want to examine the state of modern Britain on TV there’s only one man to call: artist Grayson Perry. Having considered subjects as diverse as class, identity and what it means to be male, Perry now turns his eye on the most divisive question of the moment: Brexit or Remain? Describing the decision to leave Europe as full of “subtle, emotional, philosophical and spiritual questions that can’t be answered simply by a yes or no” Perry admits to having been a Remain-er but adds that he hopes that won’t affect either his attitude towards those who chose Leave or the art he hopes to create on the subject. Said art takes the shape of two giant vases which will be decorated with images from both sides of the divide (“The Leave one is slightly bigger, say four per cent,” he announces mischievously).
In addition to travelling the country searching for the answer, Perry also utilises social media to good effect, asking people to send in photographs of themselves that sum up how they feel about the vote. The result is an engaging, light-hearted hour of television, which rather like the original simple yes/no vote, turns out to have considerably more weight than imagined.