Jeremy Deller
History of the world
2023
Carpet, cotton, wool
246 × 400 cm
Acquisition date: 2023

Born in the UK, Jeremy Deller has pursued a multidisciplinary practice since the 1990s, presenting his performances, installations, videos, posters, and more in public spaces more often than not, in line with his steadfast refusal of elitism. He produces collaborative artworks and events with musicians, graphic designers, factory workers, inventors, children, music fans, etc., taking interest in democratized modes of production like music albums, live shows, T-shirts, posters, and flyers. Always laced with humor, Deller’s work addresses the current and historical events of the United Kingdom in particular, as well as its social, political, and cultural history. An avid fan of music, Deller also likes to cleverly mix societal stereotypes and political speeches with musical and artistic references.

History of the World was first created in 1996, in the form of a blackboard with a diagram written in chalk, that connected names of artists, collectives, and places through a system of arrows. Retracing the early days of the acid house subgenre, Deller draws links between music groups and different types of historic events, like miners strikes. In the manner of a theoretical demonstration, he illustrates the relationships that formed between music and emotions during the post-industrial era, characterized by economic recession, raves, and marching bands. des fanfares. For the artist, music has always been a means of choice to make sense of the world and its complexity. Deller has more recently applied this approach to other mediums (mural paintings; the album cover art for Acid Brass, a brass band that plays acid house and techno and that the artist co-founded), including that of carpet making, as evinced by this artwork from the Lab’Bel collection.