Jason Wilsher-Mills is taking Grundy Art Gallery on a great big colourful adventure

Internationally acclaimed artist Jason Wilsher-Mills MBE visited Blackpool’s Grundy Art Gallery this week to officially launch his thrilling new art exhibition Jason Wilsher-Mills MBE: JASON AND THE ADVENTURE OF 254.

This major solo work from the renowned British artist is a Wellcome Collection exhibition and now leads the Grundy’s vibrant autumn programme as part of its exclusive UK tour, spanning across Grundy’s galleries 1, 2 and 3 to showcase an immersive installation of huge sculptures, vibrant illustrations and interactive dioramas in a joyful and subversive exploration of the human body.  

Jason and the Adventure of 254 is Wilsher-Mills’ largest and most personal work to date and draws on his experience of becoming disabled as a child. The exciting larger-than-life exhibit delves into the transformative moment of Wilsher-Mills’ diagnosis of an autoimmune condition, triggered by contracting chickenpox at the age of eleven, and uses the artist’s trademark humour to challenge the cultural and societal perceptions surrounding disability, medicine and the human body. The pieces are a celebration of family, Jason’s working-class background and the opportunities he received through hospital education, inviting audiences to explore childhood memories and creativity. 

The title alludes to Jason witnessing his parents being told of his diagnosis at the end of his hospital bed at 2.54pm on 1st August 1980 at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield. Visitors are invited to step into the physical manifestation of this memory, encountering a mesmerising dreamscape where a monumental figure lies in a hospital bed watching TV, surrounded by oversized plastic toy soldiers delivering the virus as giant inflatable germs hang in the air. The exhibition also features a series of nine fascinating lightbox dioramas which distil Wilsher-Mills’ childhood memories of this time, both before and after his diagnosis.

Jason also unveiled Blackpool Rock for the very first time during his visit – a dazzling new work co-commissioned by the resort’s Lightpool Festival, Blackpool Illuminations and Grundy Art Gallery, which celebrates creativity, community and the spirit of Blackpool and is sited outside the Grundy for the passing public to enjoy. The striking sculpture depicts a joyful couple decorated with badges designed by local people through workshops run with LeftCoast, Blackpool and the Fylde College, the pARTnership and Creative Fusion, and is inspired by the time Jason spent in the Tower Ballroom watching the ballroom dancers as part of his research. In true Wilsher-Mills style the figures are both playful and thought-provoking: wearing theatrical masks, revealing anatomical interiors and proudly celebrating disability.

Jason’s deep emotional attachment to the resort continues with LOVE - a sparkling twelve-panel installation featured in this year's Blackpool Illuminations, which tells the charming story of a lifelong romance inspired by his childhood memories of Blackpool.

Jason Wilsher-Mills said of bringing his latest works to Blackpool’s Grundy and beyond: “Blackpool is the place that I was most excited about the exhibition coming to because I have got a lot of affinity with the resort, my grandma even ran a boarding house in Blackpool years ago. It’s a big honour for me being here and I have really connected with the team at the Grundy, and the connections that have come from the exhibition - such as the commission of the ten foot Blackpool Rocks sculpture, have been amazing.

“Blackpool is also the right place for the work because the whole exhibition is about mixing together my memories of hospital and the seaside. There’s a lot of the seaside in the pieces – even the lights on the sculptures are the same ones that are used on seaside fairgrounds. I have had more feedback from this exhibition coming here than anywhere else that it’s toured. People have really connected with it as I think they recognise the popular culture references, such as Dr Who and The Beano. For me it’s all about making high art about working class culture and celebrating it.”

Leader of Blackpool Council and Cabinet Member for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Cllr Lynn Williams, said of Jason’s exhibit: “Grundy Art Gallery’s mission to bring world-class art to the people of Blackpool continues with the wonderful Jason Wilsher-Mills MBE.

“Blackpool is delighted to be hosting this internationally recognised, award-winning artist whose work is full of joy, warmth, and honesty. Do not miss it, this is a great exhibition everybody in Blackpool and beyond to enjoy - all the family will enjoy it and be moved.”

Grundy Art Gallery Curator, Paulette Brien, added: “Jason’s work embodies everything we love about contemporary art in Blackpool - it’s bold, thoughtful, inclusive, rooted in place and absolutely full of life. We’re thrilled to have him lead our autumn programme and to see his work light up both the gallery and the seafront.”

From epic adventures to intimate commissions, Grundy’s autumn programme invites audiences to discover, reflect and be inspired. It’s the perfect opportunity to explore art that’s fun, thought-provoking and made for everyone.

Jason Wilsher-Mills MBE: Jason and the Adventure of 254 will run until Saturday 20th December 2025 at Grundy Art Gallery, Queen Street, Blackpool. Grundy is open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10am to 4:20pm (last entry). Closed Sundays, Mondays and Bank Holidays. Admission is FREE.

Blackpool Rock: Jason Wilsher-Mills MBE is available to view outside Grundy Art Gallery until Saturday 20th December.

For further information please visit www.thegrundy.org or call 01253 478170.

LOVE by Jason Wilsher-Mills MBE can be viewed as part of Blackpool’s world famous Illuminations which shine nightly until Sunday 4 January 2026. For further details please visit www.visitblackpool.com/things-to-do/blackpool-illuminations

Image credit Martin Bostock Photography