We Go To The Gallery

• About the book

Have you taken children to a gallery recently? Did you struggle to explain the work to them in plain , simple English? With this new Dung Beetle book, both parents and young children can learn about contemporary art, and understand many of its key themes. Join John and Susan on their exciting journey through the art exhibition, where, with Mummy's help, they will discover the real meaning of all the contemporary art works – from empty rooms, to vagina paintings or giant inflatable dogs.

Turnaround's Jenn Thompson on why We Go to the Gallery is one of our September Books of the Month: theturnaroundblog.com/2015/08/27/book-of-the-month-we-go-to-the-gallery/

This incredibly funny and clever satire is frankly brilliant. Produced by multidisciplinary artist Miriam Elia, the book is a parody of, and a tribute to, the Ladybird Early Leaning books of the ‘60s. Instead of Mummy taking Peter and Jane to the supermarket, here she takes John and Susan to an art gallery to teach them about the ‘debilitating middle-class self-hatred in contemporary art.’ Accompanied by Elia’s colourful, vintage illustrations, we see John and Susan learn about feminism, venture capitalism and nihilism as they wander through the gallery.

Readers will recognise many of the works of art in the book. That’s part of the joy. As is the perfect Ladybird replica, published by Elia’s own Dung Beetle Press. In 2014 she was actually threatened with a lawsuit from Penguin, owners of Ladybird, for copyright infringement. Luckily, the UK copyright law was changed in October 2014 to allow for an exception of parody and satire, and now We Go to the Gallery is being printed as a commercial edition.

We can expect this book to find a place on the shelf of every book and art lover. Not only is it intelligent and hilarious, it’s the kind of book you find something new in with each reading. The perfect Christmas gift, I imagine this book to be a staple in art galleries, book and gift shops for many years to come.

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