Grayson Perry: Who Are You?

Grayson Perry: Who Are You is a three part documentary about identity. In class we watched the first part of the documentary.

Executive producer: Dinah Lord
Director: Neil Crombie
Camera: Louis Caulfield, Marcus Plowright

During the documentary Grayson Perry meets 4 individuals who are struggling with their identity. Perry meets Chris Huhne, Rylan Clark, Kayleigh and Jazz. Perry gets to know all of these individuals and gets an insight into their lives. The aim of this was so Perry could create a piece of art that represents each person, that will be put into the National portrait Gallery in London.

The Ashford Hijab

This piece was made for Kayleigh. It explores her journey as she makes the decision to convert to a muslim.

The Earl Of Essex

This piece was made for Rylan Clark, a TV presenter. It was made because Rylan spoke about how he deliberately acted fake on TV so that people would like him, so the fact that Perry made Rylan 'The Earl Of Essex' it also shows a false representation of him. I shows Rylan as he see's himself.

I Am A Man

This piece was made for Jazz, who was born a female but wanted to be male. The piece takes the shape of Peter Pan, a character who Jazz was very fond of. The fact that the statue is blowing a horn may represent Jazz sharing and being proud that he is a man.

The Chris Huhne Vase

'The Chris Huhne Vase' was a piece of art created for Chris Huhne a politician. Huhne was sent to prison at some point but declared he didn't care. This is why the vase has been smashed and put back together to show how he has cracks but he fails to show them.

This program shows how we may see ourselves differently to how others perceive us. It shows that we may deliberately represent ourselves differently in order for people to like us. The documentary represents a range of very different people and shows the struggles they have trying to find their identity or in Rylan Clark and Chris Huhne's case, hiding their identity.

I enjoyed this documentary because it gave you an insight into the lives of other people and what they go through in order to find their true identity. It was also good because it showed you how some people felt they needed to change and others didn't. This was especially obvious when it came to Chris Huhne; Politician and Rylan Clark; TV presenter because Chris did not feel that he needed to change himself in any way although he committed a crime worthy of a jail sentence. Rylan however felt he needed to act fake on TV so people will like him. Each portrait was very different because they all had very different issues regarding identity.