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Grayson Perry

May My Ashes Blow Away on the Winds of Change
Now On View

Maker

Grayson Perry (English, b. 1960 in Chelmsford, England)

Title

May My Ashes Blow Away on the Winds of Change

Year

1986

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

earthenware, glaze

Dimensions

41.9 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm (16 1/2 x 10 x 10 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed "May my ashes blow away on the winds of change, I love life I love England" around the shoulder of the vase. Also inscribed "Grayson Perry" on the inside of the ceramic element.

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Richard Brown Baker Fund for Contemporary British Art

Object Number

2011.37

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

Art and Design from 1900 to Now
Jun 04, 2022 – Sep 01, 2026

Label copy

This ceramic vase features an inscription, Britain’s Union Jack flag, and a scenic landscape, all rendered in blue and white. Grayson Perry often intertwines contemporary social themes with historical approaches to object- and image-making. This work resembles a funerary urn. Its styling as a classical amphora includes an open neck from which cremated ashes could blow away. This design underscores the defiance in the inscription: “May my ashes blow away on the winds of change, I love life / I love England.”

–Dominic Molon, Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art

Made in the UK
Contemporary Art from the Richard Brown Baker Collection
Sep 23, 2011 – Jan 08, 2012
Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Sep 22, 2010

Image use

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In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Grayson Perry (English, b. 1960 in Chelmsford, England)
May My Ashes Blow Away on the Winds of Change, 1986
Earthenware with glaze
41.9 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm (16 1/2 x 10 x 10 inches)
Richard Brown Baker Fund for Contemporary British Art 2011.37

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