THE artist Peter Liversidge, described as “an offbeat talent of a very British kind”, is set to exhibit in Watchet this month.

The show, called Rural Time, will be housed in the two galleries at the East Quay in Watchet.

Starting on January 21, Rural Time will centre on a brand-new series of 24 proposals drawn up by the artist. Liversidge is renowned for his surreal proposals, which range from damming the Thames to flood London to obscuring his own exhibits in mist.

Rural Time will also feature 36 chains suspended from the ceiling. Each chain has been made by a different blacksmith, and are billed as symbols of industry and manufacturing.

The chains will be accompanied by a hanging speaker, which has been reclaimed from the old Wansbrough Paper Mill.

The modified speaker will announce the passing of every minute, which is set to “help us, as we listen, to reflect on the passing of time, and how the local industry of the town has changed”, according to publicity about the exhibition. 

The exhibition will also feature a series of ready-made objects standing on a shelf.

From tangerines to spirit levels, Liversidge has put stamps onto the inanimate objects and posted them from the Bethnal Green Post Office in London to the gallery.

Then postal workers are then invited into the exhibit to place them on the shelf as they see fit. This is said to be a continuation of ongoing work that Liversidge has undertaken over the course of several decades. 

Liversidge was described as "an offbeat talent of a very British kind" in a 2009 profile by the Guardian, which went on to compare his "surreal pedantry" to the late Spike Milligan.

Opened in 2021, East Quay is an arts centre founded by the Onion Collective. The collective is responsible for a number of local rejuvenation projects, including Watchet’s Visitor Centre and Boat Museum. 

Exhibitions like Rural Time are part of East Quay’s mission to “tackle social, cultural and environmental justice in Watchet through wide reaching and ambitious regeneration projects”.

Commissioned by and containing funding from Arts Council England, Rural Time will be the seaside art venue’s latest effort to realise its aim of holistic community regeneration.

Interested persons can visit Rural Time between January 21 and May 5. Visitors will also be able to see the various studios across the site, self-contained accommodation pods, and a working paper mill.