Giant Inflatable Crab for Scarborough

A giant inflatable sculpture of a psychedelic crab and colourful digital wallpaper featuring a pair of lovers inspired by the town’s Peasholm Park are to go on display as part of a vibrant, family-friendly exhibition at Scarborough’s Woodend Gallery next month.

Jason Wilsher-Mills: Jason Beside the Sea can be seen from Saturday 14 September to Saturday 4 January. This larger-than-life exhibition is a colourful explosion of Jason’s signature printed wallpaper and giant inflatable sculptures. Jason’s signature artwork characters reveal the stories of his memories of childhood seaside holidays, 1970s working class experience and disability.

The exhibition will include Scarborough Crab, a giant inflatable crab sculpture with a tattoo design, 70s psychedelic prints and seagull sidekick. Scarborough Love is a digital fabric print wallpaper inspired by Peasholm Park, which is themed around the willow pattern, the story of two doomed lovers which decorates many blue-and-white plates.

Jason says:

“I love the fact that here in Scarborough there is a place that has been dedicated to this love story, so I decided to update the story and make it even more ‘Scarborough’. My willow pattern features some of the designs I saw in Peasholm Park, alongside seaside ephemera, such as rope and seashells, and references to the north, with the Yorkshire Rose featured in the border.

“I’ve created my own Scarborough lovers, who meet and fall in love: the rocker with his Kiss Me Quick hat on, and the blonde, with her beehive hair, and mod jacket, adorned with a target, which was so favoured by the scooter fashionistas that visited the town in the 1960s and 70s.”

Visitors can also see Jason’s Scarborough Triptych: a three-panel wallpaper featuring argonaut characters inspired by his recent exhibition Jason and his Argonauts. These include the Manchester Argonaut, inspired by Joy Division’s lead vocalist Ian Curtis.

Sarah Oswald, Interim Chief Executive at Scarborough Museums and Galleries says:

“We’re really excited to have welcomed Jason to Scarborough over the past few months as he developed his response to the town’s heritage, character and people. We believe everyone, young and old, will find something to connect with in this exhibition. In Scarborough Crab and Scarborough Love Jason has created two new iconic pieces that capture the essence of Scarborough and his own experience and memories.”

Jason Wilsher-Mills is a Yorkshire-based disabled artist who captures childhood memories, popular culture and social history through his psychedelic pattern-clashing inflatable sculptures and wallpapers. The explosion of colour and disabled activist messaging transcends into individual characters, who carry a story and journey to each new town. There’s something for everybody; ultimately, it’s a story about love, a reminder of the magic of younger times and caring for everybody.

Jason Beside the Sea is part of Connecting Coastal Cultures, an Arts Council England funded project delivered by Scarborough Museums and Galleries in partnership with Crescent Arts to raise the profile of art in the north, providing opportunities for artists from the area to exhibit in regional venues.

The Woodend Gallery is on The Crescent in Scarborough and is open from 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays. Entry is free.

Jason will be giving an artist’s talk on Saturday 12 October at Woodend Gallery.