Ikon presents an ‘exposition’ by artist Stuart Whipps, part of his long-term art project The Kipper and The Corpse (2004–ongoing). A vast body of work, it is a multifaceted reflection on the closure of the Longbridge motor works in Birmingham, the last British-owned volume car manufacturer. A 1979 Mini, fully refurbished by Whipps, is the focal point of the exposition alongside photography, texts and archival material from the period, exemplifying his interest in the ramifications of the past on the present through cycles of political and socio-economic change.

 “I like the idea that it (the Mini) would sit in an art gallery, in a traditional setting…it’s not trying to make it sculptural in an artful way through the subversion of materials, it’s through this straight presentation of ‘here’s this object, here are these narratives that relate to it’.”  Stuart Whipps

The Kipper and The Corpse was commissioned by WERK as part of the Longbridge Public Art Project. This Ikon presentation is dedicated to the memory of Keith Woodfield who worked at the Longbridge motor works for over 30 years and was a guiding light for the artist.