Jason and the Adventure of 254

Jason Wilsher-Mills presents 'Jason and the Adventure of 254' at Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry.

Visit exhibition website Find out more about Jason

Opening hours

Monday : Closed

Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Sunday : 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

About the exhibition

An exhibition by artist Jason Wilsher-Mills, revisiting childhood memories of what was happening inside and outside his body, during the transformative experience of becoming disabled as a child and his creative awakening.

Jason and the Adventure of 254 is a major solo exhibition by artist Jason Wilsher-Mills showcasing his largest and most personal work to date, commissioned by the Wellcome Collection.  

The exhibition is a joyful and subversive exploration of the body, drawing on the artist’s experience of becoming disabled as a child. Reimagining the gallery space as a hospital ward, Wilsher-Mills’ installation of sculptures, dioramas and illustrations challenges cultural and societal perceptions surrounding disability, medicine and the human body. Through a kaleidoscope of colours, tongue-in-cheek humour and a touch of magic realism, the exhibition is also a celebration of family, the artist’s working-class background and the opportunities he received through hospital education. 

Jason and the Adventure of 254 delves into the transformative moment when Wilsher-Mills was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, which was triggered by contracting chickenpox at the age of 11. Paralysed from the neck down until the age of 16, and unable to physically explore the wider world around him, the artist came to inhabit an interior world filled with action heroes, TV shows, films, comics, books and his own vivid imagination. The exhibition’s title refers to the exact moment - 2.54pm on 1 August 1980 at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield - when the artist witnessed his parents being told of his diagnosis. At the same time Sebastian Coe, wearing the number 254, was winning the gold medal in the 1,500 m race at the Moscow Olympics, which was being shown on the ward’s TV.  

The exhibition features a monumental figure in a hospital bed, watching a TV that has morphed in Sebastian Coe, surrounded by oversized plastic toy soldiers delivering viruses, inflatable germs hang in the air, and a pair of large calliper boots have been reimagined as boots the artist would chose to wear. Floor to ceiling illustrations depict significant episodes during the artist’s life and a series of dioramas based on penny arcade machines, act as windows into the artist’s mind, illuminating some of his childhood memories before and after his diagnosis.

Accessibility

The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum is committed to being accessible for everyone. You can find information about accessible facilities and resources across the site to plan your visit on their website.  For more information please call 024 7623 7521.

Getting There

Bus

All buses terminate in the city centre, and most buses stop at Pool Meadow bus station. The Herbert is approximately 5 minutes walk from Pool Meadow, and 10 minutes from most other stopping places in the city centre. There are signposts across the city directing people to the Herbert, and we are situated next to the Cathedral so are easy to find. 

Most bus services in Coventry and the surrounding areas are operated by National Express. Use their interactive bus journey planning tool to get to and from the museum.

Train

From Coventry station it is a 10 - 15 minute walk into the city centre. Buses and taxis are also available from the railway station. Plan your trainride with London Northwestern Railway.

Bike

There are some bike storage racks outside of the museum and nearby on University Square. There is also rack storage at Coventry Train Station. 

West Midlands Cycle Hire have bicycle docks on Earl Street by Jordan Well where you are able to hire or dock a bike for your journey.

Car

At Coventry inner ring-road, turn off at Junction 3 or 5 and follow the brown signs for the Herbert. There are several Pay & Display car parks available within walking distance. For directions using sat-nav or route planners use the postcode CV1 5QP. Alternatively, a park and ride service for the city centre is operated from War Memorial Park, Kenilworth Road in the south of the City.

Information for wheelchair users

• There is level access to each gallery floor and transfer between floors by lift.
• There are accessible toilets on both ground and first floors.
• Parking for Blue Badge holders is on Bayley Lane opposite the entrance to the Herbert.

Looking for a Changing Places toilet?

The nearest Changing Places toilets are a short distance away located at:

Coventry Central Library, Smithford Way, CV1 1FY

 

The Wave, New Union St, CV1 2PS

Banner image description: Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert/Wellcome Collection. Exhibition install shot from Wellcome Collection. A brightly coloured gallery space is filled with a large sculpture of a figure on a wire frame bed with their feet up on the edge of the bed. Small green army men toy sculptures litter the floor.