Duncan Weston's solo show 'DON'T ASK' opens at Grow, a new independent creative space in the heart of Plymouth's cultural quarter

From Friday 6 May - Friday 13 May 2022, Grow Plymouth invites you to experience the world of multidisciplinary artist Duncan Weston at new show ‘DON’T ASK’. The show is the culmination of a three-month artist-in-residency in a new DIY creative space in the heart of Plymouth’s cultural quarter. Weston embodies and utilises the building and its surroundings at a time when this 120-year-old building begins its transition from its purely commercial past. 

AN EVER-UNFOLDING STORY IN THE WINDOW 

Weston is fascinated with the hidden infrastructure of local entertainment, culture, delicacies and folklore of a place. He learns the map of a city via its fly posters, graffiti, things of unintentional interest and the people he meets. As he traverses Plymouth, he collects materials and ideas which are being retold in a narrative and ever-unfolding story in the building’s front window for passers-by as they walk up and down North Hill. 

A RESIDENCY IN PLYMOUTH AND ONGOING JOURNEY 

The multi-media show marks the end of Weston’s residency and an ongoing journey. Now aged 49½, Weston has occupied spaces across capital metropolises, from London to Amsterdam, to seaside towns and cities, including his hometown of Folkestone, and now Plymouth. The show questions consumerism within society, reflecting back to us our own desires and insecurities with reassuring effervescent nostalgia. Weston shares his experience through the eyes of an iconic fashion house and designer mogul, which includes wearing the brand head to toe for over 25 years. This obsession became to mean more to his own identity and aspirations, even the semblance of a father figure, as Weston becomes the brand and the space turns into a luxury flagship store. 

PART OF A YEAR-LONG SERIES OF POP-UP CULTURAL EVENTS 

Weston’s show will be the first of a year-long series of pop-up cultural events working with partners to experiment and celebrate the building, its surroundings, heritage and looks to the future in terms of sustainability, inclusion, food and drink, grassroots arts, music and culture. The top floors have recently been converted into studios, which are now creative home to painters, audio artists, printmakers, installation and socially engaged artists. 

Event Details 

Address: Grow, 14 Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AQ 

Private View: Fri 6 May 2022, 5-9pm, Open to all. RSVP HERE

Show open to General Public: Saturday 7 - Friday 13 May, 12-6pm 

ABOUT DUNCAN WESTON 

Duncan Weston was born in Folkestone UK in 1972. His work is multimedia, often autobiographical, site-specific and carries a mix of nostalgia and acute observational skill. Starting out as a graffiti writer in the 1980s, Weston's work is continually evolving in a contemporary context, leading to intense periods of exhibiting his narrative and circumstance as a nomadic artist as he explores identity, place, consumerism and class. 

Weston’s works have been exhibited across the UK, including London’s Somerset House and Saatchi Gallery, and internationally, including Finland, Netherlands, Spain, Australia, Norway, France and Sweden. Weston also has a MA from University of Creative Arts, UCA. @byduncanweston 

ABOUT GROW 

Grow Plymouth is made up of 11 studios which are creative home to painters, audio artists, printmakers, installation and socially engaged artists. The ground floor is a space to experiment with the aim to create a space which celebrates its surroundings, heritage and looks to the future in terms of sustainability, inclusion, food and drink, grassroots arts, music and culture.