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[title]Joe Lycett is a pretty funny guy. He’s also, it turns out, an arty guy. His second exhibition – created with his mother, Helen Lycett – is currently on display at They Made This gallery in Covent Garden, featuring old works, new works, and a couple of collabs. It provides a rare chance to stare at Mother Lycett’s mystical, watercolour portraits and gush over the comic’s boldly provocative acrylics – all while stroking your chin and really thinking about the meaning of it all, y’know?
The pair sat down with Time Out to ask each other questions about life, their craft, philosophies and – dare we say it — the art world. Here’s what they had to say.
Joe: ‘Mum. Mom. Moma. Mother. Helen. Thank you for agreeing to this. Let’s jump straight in: did you realise from the moment I was born that I was a genius?’
Helen: ‘You were always wacky. That is not genius.’
J: ‘I understand. We should tell the readers of Time Out what we’re doing. Can you describe what we’re up to with this exhibition?’
H: ‘We’re doing a joint show of our artworks. It’s like a sweet shop of styles and colour and views of the world. We’re having fun! And there’s quite a lot of paintings with swearing on from you. Why do so many of them have profanities? Is it really necessary?’
J: ‘Probably not. But I like a swear word. Some people say it’s lazy comedy and a sign of a lack of intellect and vocabulary and they’d be absolutely right. You don’t ever swear in your art and you’ve been rejected by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, unlike me. How do you choose your subjects? Have you ever considered painting Gail Platt from Coronation Street?’
H: ‘Sometimes it’s feeling engaged with the subject and sometimes it’s the light, shadows, or composition. It’s hard to say.’
J: ‘Are you saying Gail Platt is not an engaging subject?’
H: ‘Let’s just say I’ve not been inspired as an artist by Gail Platt and don’t expect to be.’
J: ‘I did a painting of Gail Platt.’
You don’t ever swear in your art and you’ve been rejected by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, unlike me
H: ‘Precisely. Is that the worst piece you’ve ever done?’
J: ‘I once tried to paint my friend’s young daughter. She’s beautiful and I’m not good at capturing beautiful people, so I had three attempts, all failures. One of them looked like Barbara Windsor. Thankfully my friend found it funny and got them framed.’
H: ‘Do you set out to offend people when you paint them?’
J: ‘I try not to but invariably I make them look grotesque in some way. I do try to be kind but it often wanders into rude caricature. What’s the most offensive thing you’ve made?’
H: ‘That would be you. What comes first, the image or the joke?’
J: ‘I normally paint something I think will look nice and then a caption usually presents itself as I paint. Sometimes it’s already fully formed but generally it’s an afterthought. You generally prefer portraits, whereas I’ve veered away from them more recently. What is it about portraits that you love?’
H: ‘I enjoy the challenge of capturing a character. Do you think your painting is art or graphics?’
J: ‘That’s an interesting question. I do love graphic shapes and bold colours, which I suppose makes them quite graphic-y. But then often there is something mysterious and romantic about seeing brushstrokes and that they’re unfinished. I’m not sure to be honest: let me ask the Royal Academy and I’ll get back to you.’
H: ‘Another name drop. Why haven’t you painted me yet?’
J: ‘I always struggle with very beautiful people.’
H: *pretends to put fingers down throat*
J: ‘I did try once but you ended up looking like Les Dennis.’
H: ‘Maybe if you concentrated more you could do a better job?
J: ‘I did try once to paint something over a few days and it definitely looked more detailed and impressive. But I quite like the childlike quality of my works too.’
Would you be up for doing more mum and son stuff, like the travel series Jack Whitehall does with his dad?
H: ‘I was talking about your stand-up comedy.’
J: ‘In which case absolutely. Speaking of criticism, are you braced for the onslaught of art critics savaging our exhibition?’
H: ‘No, because I put my heart into what I do. At the end of the day if I’m happy with it that’s all that matters. Do you mind criticism?’
J: ‘I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t hurt a bit, but I agree that ultimately you’ve just got to make stuff that you like and hope that a few other people will like it as well. I remember when I first received criticism when I was on TV and you said, ‘if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ People were nice at the opening of the exhibition though. How did you think it went?’
H: ‘It’s all been joyful. To see a colourful gallery of people smiling and engaged, even dancing around at times, that’s been special.’
J: ‘I’ve really enjoyed doing this. Would you be up for doing more mum and son stuff, like the travel series Jack Whitehall does with his dad?’
H: ‘Absolutely bloody not.’
‘Lycett & Mummy’ is at They Made This Gallery, Covent Garden, until October 1. Entry is free.