Subscribe
Search
ePaper
Newsletters
Subscribe
ePaper
Newsletters
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Search
News

Artists’ prison tribute to Oscar Wilde

Gareth Harris
31 August 2016
Share

Artists including Wolfgang Tillmans, Steve McQueen, Marlene Dumas and Robert Gober will show new works in Reading Prison as part of a project inspired by its most famous inmate, Oscar Wilde. The Irish playwright was held in the prison, 37 miles from London, from 1895 to 1897 for “committing acts of gross indecency with male persons”. The exhibition has been organised by the non-profit art commissioning body Artangel. Its co-director James Lingwood said at a press conference that Dumas and Gober will create new work for the show, while McQueen will make an “intervention” in the cells. Works by Roni Horn, Doris Salcedo and Felix Gonzalez-Torres will also be dotted around the imposing Victorian building, which closed as a prison in 2013. Every Sunday, actors will read De Profundis, a letter written by Wilde from prison to his lover “Bosie”, Lord Alfred Douglas.

• Inside: Artists and Writers in Reading Prison, 4 September-30 October

News
Share
Subscribe to The Art Newspaper’s digital newsletter for your daily digest of essential news, views and analysis from the international art world delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsletter sign-up
Information
About
Contact
Cookie policy
Data protection
Privacy policy
Frequently Asked Questions
Subscription T&Cs
Terms and conditions
Advertise
Sister Papers
Sponsorship policy
Follow us
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
LinkedIn
© The Art Newspaper