How did we get here? / Where do we go now? featuring work by Simon Roberts is the latest exhibition brought to the city by Chester Visual Arts.

From their first commission back in 2017 which transformed the old library building into a Pop Art gallery, the charity have attracted over 15,000 visitors to their exhibitions. This time ,the former H&M unit in the Grosvenor Shopping Centre is the canvas to display work by Roberts from the last 15 years. Launched at the end of May the exhibition has gained national media attention, featuring on channel 4 news with attention focused on the innovative use of a previously vacant space.

The exhibition showcases many varied scenes of modern Britain via large scale photographs all of which muse on the changing face of Britain, contrasting happy scenes of festival goers and car boot sales with recent upheavals and crises, including Grenfell Tower, the London Riots and Brexit.

Many of the works have a “Where’s Wally” quality with many hidden details, the people picnicking next to a skip for example. Each of the photographs makes the viewer ponder the stories of the faces in the crowd, whilst other scenes are starker featuring an almost apocalyptic looking beach scene or snowbound golfers.

Cleverly placed in the gallery is an image of Peckham’s Peace Wall showing messages of hope and reconciliation, opposite a collection of protest banners, all of which reflect our angry troubled times. Emotion can be found in a collage of despairing bankers faces, as well as a collection of Theresa May’s emotional states, from dancing to resignation.

Making full use of the former retail space, the changing rooms feature a video work “The Brexit lexicon” which explores the hundreds of phrases which have entered our political discourse. Secondly “An Avoidable loss” is a stark portrait of the pandemic combining photographs of the sea with varied audio snippets including families remembering their loved ones.

Where do we go from here?

The lead image for the exhibition features a man looking over the cliffs at Beachy Head, a clever metaphor for a country on the edge. This exhibition feels deeply political and anti Government, with the artist proudly wearing a “Brexshit” T shirt on launch night. However there is a right to reply with the Public Gallery, an interactive element which includes a range of workshops and open sessions as well as a noticeboard consisting of various submitted platitudes and inspirational quotes, as well as “Tories are human too!”

Descending to the basement via a large collage depicting the eye of Boris Johnson, visitors can see photographs from 2021 which Roberts took at the Victoria and Albert Museum during lockdown. The veiled statues in semi darkness provide a further bonus display of equal power, with the statues appearing trapped and suffocated by their circumstances.

How did we get here? / Where do we go now? is a triumph and deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. From its thought provoking title which could apply to Britain, the city or a person’s own life situation, to the melancholy beauty of Robert’s photographs, this is a triumph and deserves a much longer run. With Chester lacking a permanent art gallery, Chester Visual Arts deserve the applause for bringing art to this accessible location. We need more art, and you know that this would probably cost ten pounds plus to see in that London.

Runs until the 30th June https://www.chestervisualarts.org.uk/

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