The Other Western Gentleman

Jason Wilsher-Mills (1969 - )

Digital Painting - Digital Painting reproduced on finest art paper

2015

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Whitehall
    For a commission with the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, in 2015, Wilsher-Mills responded to an intriguing, unattributed painting, Portrait of a European Gentleman in Turkish Dress, which raises many questions – ‘Is this really a portrait?’, ‘Is the (gentle)man depicted really a European?’ and ‘What are we to understand by the expression “Turkish dress”?’. The Other Western Gentleman was made while the artist was bed-bound and unable to attend the residency in Qatar. Wilsher-Mills has experienced chronic polyneuropathy since a serious illness as a child left him paralysed from the neck down for five years, only regaining his mobility at 16 years old.
  • About the artist
    Jason Wilsher-Mills was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, in 1969 and now lives and works in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. After initially specialising in traditional painting techniques, Wilsher-Mills has in recent years focused on digital technologies, such as iPad and Wacom tablets. The use of these technologies allows him to produce large-scale, detailed paintings despite the physical challenges of living with chronic polyneuropathy. Wilsher-Mills’s practice includes interactive sculptures and lightbox paintings, alongside augmented reality experiences. He has also fully embraced community projects, producing work in collaboration with thousands of children and adults around the country. In 2020 Jason was the recipient of the Adam Reynolds Award from Shape Arts, through which he was commissioned to create a new interactive sculpture, I Am Argonaut, for the Folkestone Triennial 2021. In 2023, his 2-metre bronze public sculpture, Amazonian Caiman God, was unveiled in Wakefield Cathedral Precinct.
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  • Details
    Artist
    Jason Wilsher-Mills (1969 - )
    Title
    The Other Western Gentleman
    Date
    2015
    Medium
    Digital Painting - Digital Painting reproduced on finest art paper
    Dimensions
    height: 130 cm; width: 100 cm; depth: 8 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from the artist, November 2022, through the Art XUK project 2022-23
    Provenance
    The artist; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 28 November 2022
    GAC number
    19121