Grayson Perry, 60, reveals he ‘can’t be bothered’ to dress up as his female alter-ego Claire anymore because it takes two hours and it’s ‘too much effort’ as he gets older
- Grayson Perry said he is ‘getting old and can’t be bothered to dress up anymore’
- Artist, 60, added pandemic has ‘cut the fat’ and ‘deadwood’ from arts sector
- Also said ‘Greta Thunberg is wetting her knickers’ as a result of the coronavirus pandemic
Grayson Perry has revealed he ‘can’t be bothered’ to dress up as his female alter-ego Claire anymore as it takes too long.
The Essex-born Turner Prize winning artist, 60, is famous for cross-dressing as his alter-ego who often appears in public as well as Perry’s artwork.
In an interview with The Arts Society Magazine, he said: ‘I’ve only dressed up three times since March. I miss it, but I don’t have the motivation.
‘It’s two hours’ work – a big effort. I’m getting older and I just can’t be bothered’.
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Grayson Perry as revealed he ‘can’t be bothered’ to dress up as his female alter-ego Claire anymore as it takes too long He is pictured in his home.
Grayson Perry attends The Royal Academy Schools annual dinner and auction at Royal Academy of Arts in March, dressed as his alter ego Claire. The artist, 60, has only dressed up as her three times this year
On the first day of the UK’s first lockdown Grayson Perry celebrated his 60th birthday, swapping the usual soiree for a Zoom call.
As the artist and presenter joined the world in experiencing a new normal, he said he felt depressed and lonely time and found his usually joyful and ostentatious transvestitism had been immensely challenged.
Perry added that the culture sector has been ‘decimated’ by the Covid-19 pandemic but that ‘some of it needed to go’.
‘I think every part of life has probably got a bit of fat that needs trimming, a bit of dead wood.
‘It’s awful that the culture sector has been decimated, but I think some things needed to go.
‘Too often, the audience for culture is just the people making it – theatres with whole audiences of actors, or exhibitions only put on to impress other curators.
On the first day of Britain’s first lockdown Grayson Perry celebrated his 60th birthday, swapping the usual soiree for a Zoom call. He is pictured in his home
Grayson Perry, pictured in July 2019 as Claire, said he felt depressed and lonely time and subsequently found his usually joyful and ostentatious transvestitism had been immensely challenged
‘With Covid, it’s been like turning a computer off and on again, and seeing which files reappear. Some of them we don’t really give a damn about. What’s interesting is what might not re-emerge.’
Also discussing the coronavrius pandemic, Perry added: ‘The environment has benefited, forcing a long-overdue readjustment in our consumerist, carbon footprint-heavy ways. We don’t want to fly now; we’re all cycling.
‘Greta Thunberg is wetting her knickers.
Also discussing the coronavrius pandemic, Perry said his Greta Thunberg will be ‘wetting her knickers’ as it’s good for the environment. He is pictured in March as his alter ego Claire
‘Covid’s achieving all the things she wants. The poor suffer more, the non-whites suffer more… It’s a ripe moment for social revolution.
‘When everything’s up in the air, it means that the pieces have a chance to fall down in a very different pattern.’
While his creative days have too undergone considerable changes, Perry has had a productive year.
In Spring, Perry launched Channel 4 series Grayson Perry’s Art Club which pulled in regular audiences of more than a million.
The show encouraged those at home to make art at a crucial time when the nation found themselves with extra time on their hands and in need of a creative outlet.
The show followed Grayson and his psychotherapist wife Philippa around his North London studio as they themselves made art, while the public also submitted artworks on weekly themes from portraits to fantasy.
- Jacky Klein’s exclusive interview with Grayson Perry will be published in The Art Society’s Winter Issue Magazine (out on 2nd November) and available online at theartssociety.org
