English Magic - Jeremy Deller

This show is certainly eclectic, it's much more international and world focused than the title suggests. English Magic is mostly concerned with the way the world is, it's opacity and its interconnectedness.

The show seems to be in chapters, rather than a collection of separate works, each chapter is a collaboration in one way or another. Though I am sure the whole is very carefully curated and overseen by Deller, his touch is very light throughout. It's a generous show bringing in influence and control from elsewhere. As a result it feels more valid - more able to represent a country than if it was solely made by one man.

The visitor walks into a dark room at first, showing a beautiful film which has no narrative, but feels a little like a collection of memories. It shows incredible footage of (captive) birds of prey in flight, two Landrovers being crushed (one of which makes up the seat you sit on to watch the film) and footage of Deller's Stonehenge bouncy castle (which I 'saw' in Glasgow - brilliant fun!) It is a suitable introduction to the show and sets up the feeling of barely interlinked chapters which nevertheless inform and feed into one another.

The most provoking 'chapter' for me was 'You have the watches, we have the time' The title is apparently a Taliban proverb. The works are drawings by ex-soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan and are now in prisons across the UK. They are drawings, either of important figures involved in the Iraq war - or the soldier's experiences of it. Some are really good portraits, there is a great drawing as if through the sight of a gun (you can see it next to a portrait of Tony Blair in the picture below).

There are quite a few 'chapters' which are imagined histories or futures. They have the effect of throwing the viewer off, the subjects of some of the other works seem less true, less real or more malleable because of them. The best example of this is the poster boy for the show - William Morris returning as a giant to throw Roman Abramovich's yacht into the sea. The mural is beautifully painted, it is photo real but has an (appropriate) dreamlike quality.

All in all it's a great show, and gets better the more time you spend with it. There are so many more works, influences and concerns than I have pointed out here (and for that reason it really suits being in Bristol Museum rather than Arnolfini or even Spike Island). Its definitely a show to go back to for me (its FREE too) and one to make sure you see if you haven't already.
English Magic runs until the 21st September at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.