The British Museum has acquired State Occasion from The Museum of Ordure (2020) by Stuart Brisley, from his show, Recent Paintings from the Museum of Ordure, at the Lungley Gallery in late 2020.

It is one of two paintings of the Queen which featured in the show. In the statement from the exhibition, Brisley writes “The connecting image in the works on paper is that of capturing the Head of State by the paparazzi in private moments inside a vehicle. Privacy implies a state of being concealed which the actions of the paparazzi exposes. The image is then forged and monetised….in the second painting and drawing she is similarly caught but this time in an 18th Century carriage taking her to and from the Houses of Parliament with the calculation of exposure.”

Read more about the show or the full statement here. In 2020 Book Works also published The Stuart Brisley Interviews: Performance and Its Afterlives, in which the artist reflects on his seven decades of practice. Order it here.