work and other works
ian breakwell

DKUK was set up by artist/hairdresser Daniel Kelly to combine and support the two disparate parts of his working life and so it is with great pleasure that we present Work and other works by Ian Breakwell: three pieces chosen to complement the unique exhibition space at DKUK, where art is displayed in the informal environment of a hairdressing salon.

Visitors to the salon will be welcomed by a selection from Ian Breakwell’s Continuous Diary (Channel Four, 1984). Developed from his published diaries, these short works offer a subjective and humorous view of the world he inhabited.

A photo of Breakwell, on loan from his estate, greets visitors as they enter the space. Following a haircut consultation clients hear an audio work, Dialogues (Audio Arts, 1981), played softly to them from a directional speaker whilst their hair is being shampooed. Dialogues is a witty critique of the idiosyncrasies of everyday language.

While our clients are undergoing their transformation of outward appearance they will be watching Public Face Private Eye (Channel Four, 1991), a series of short films that presents a comical interplay between the public surface we present to the world and the private inner world of imagination.

DKUK would like to thank Anthony Reynolds Gallery, Felicity Sparrow and Rob Tufnell for their generous support in making this exhibition possible.

Ian Breakwell (b.1943 – d.2005) studied at Derby College of Art and West of England College, Bristol. He is well-known for his Diaries, several of which were published, as well as his broadcasts on radio and television. He was a member of the Artists Placement Group during the 1970s and was a contributor to the seminal Video Show at the Serpentine Gallery in 1975. Breakwell undertook several fellowships and residencies, including at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge (1980) and at Durham Cathedral (1994–95). A televised series of Ian Breakwell’s Diaries was commissioned for Channel 4 in 1984. In 2004 he was awarded an AHRC Fellowship at Central St Martins College of Art and Design.  Major exhibitions include those at the ICA (1977), Tate (1982), Quad (2010) and the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill (2012/13) and most recently at Independent Régence, Brussels (2015), which commemorated the 10 year anniversary of Breakwell’s death. Many of Breakwell’s works are in important public collections, including those of Tate Gallery, MoMA New York, the British Council, and Arts Council England. A DVD anthology of his film work is available from the British Film Institute. The Estate of Ian Breakwell is represented by Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London.