Vince Laws contacted us about his upcoming exhibitions and we are happy to share his press release on Counterfire

The ‘DWP Deaths Make Me Sick’ shrouds by artist Vince Laws were created as part of a live performance, ‘A Very Queer Nazi Faust’, to highlight the deaths of sick and disabled people while dealing with the DWP. The shrouds began as giant pages of John Faust’s unfinished masterpiece, ‘The Tragic True Life & Deserved Death Of A Benefit Scrounger By Himself’ with 5 of them hung across the back of the stage in September 2018. That project was supported by Unlimited and the Spirit of 2012; Norwich Arts Centre; and Norfolk County Council.

In 2019 Vince wants the on-going series of 25 shrouds to be seen around the UK. This year they have been seen on street protests in London and Norwich, in Parliament, in Battersea Arts Centre, at the Cambridge Junction, Islington Art Salon, and at Nottingham Street Art Festival.

In the next few months, some shrouds will be in Bethlem Gallery London, The Foundry London, Mad Pride Manchester, and The British Textile Biennial in Pendle, Lancashire.

The shrouds are made on recycled bedding, hemmed by volunteers, and spray painted using stencils in Vince’s back garden. The shrouds are all 6 foot by 4 foot, the size of a burial plot. There is a DWP Deaths Make Me Sick page on Facebook, where some of the shrouds have been seen by over 250,000 people.

The shrouds are not for sale, but are light and easy to post, can be displayed inside or out, hung against a wall, or from a washing line, or can lie on the ground. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Forthcoming Exhibitions:

7th September – 8th November 2019

Art & Protest: What’s there to be mad about? Curated by Dolly Sen.

Bethlem Gallery, London, BR3 3BX

Open 10am – 5pm Wednesday – Friday. Including first and last Saturdays of the month

http://bethlemgallery.com/event/art-protest-whats-there-to-be-mad-about/

Sunday 8th September 2019

Mad Pride

NIAMOS centre, Hulme Manchester,

9 September 2019 – Jan 2020 (end date TBC)

Contested Spaces : Contested Structures e

The Foundry, Vauxhall, London