Germs have arrived in Blackpool - but they're inflatable and part of an exhibition by Jason Wilsher-Mills MBE

A new set of germs have invaded Blackpool - but they’re inflatble, colourful and part of a fun new free exhibition in the town.

The features are the work of Internationally acclaimed artist Jason Wilsher-Mills MBE, who has officially opened his brand-new exhibition Jason and the Adventure of 254 at Grundy Art Gallery.

Visitors can expect to see colourful inflatable germs, lightbox memories and a giant figure lying in a hospital bed watching TV, surrounded by oversized plastic toy soldiers.

There’s also Blackpool Rock, a brand-new sculpture created especially for the resort and now proudly installed outside the Grundy.

Entry to the exhibition is free of charge. The Grundy Art Gallery is owned and operated by Blackpool Council, forming part of its Arts Service.

Jason and the Adventure of 254 is Wilsher-Mills’ is the artist’s largest and most personal work to date and draws on his experience of becoming disabled as a child.

The exciting larger-than-life exhibit delves into the transformative moment of Wilsher-Mills’ diagnosis of an autoimmune condition, triggered by contracting chickenpox at the age of eleven, and uses the artist’s trademark humour to challenge the cultural andsocietal perceptions surrounding disability, medicine and the human body.

The Wakefield-born artist, who has a great love for Blackpool, said: “Blackpool is the place that I was most excited about the exhibition coming to because I have got a lot of affinity with the resort, my grandma even ran a boarding house in Blackpool years ago.

“It’s a big honour for me being here and I have really connected with the team at the Grundy, and the connections that havecome from the exhibition - such as the commission of the ten foot Blackpool Rocks sculpture, have been amazing.

“Blackpool is also the right place for the work because the whole exhibition is about mixing together my memories of hospital and the seaside. There’s a lot of the seaside in the pieces – even the lights on the sculptures are the same ones that areused on seaside fairgrounds. I have had more feedback from this exhibition coming here than anywhere else that it’s toured.”

Leader of Blackpool Council and Cabinet Member for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Cllr Lynn Williams, said of Jason’s exhibit: “Grundy Art Gallery’s mission to bring world- class art to the people of Blackpool continues with the wonderful Jason Wilsher-Mills MBE.

“Blackpool is delighted to be hosting this internationally recognised, award-winning artist whose work is full of joy, warmth, and honesty. Do not miss it, this is a great exhibition everybody in Blackpool to enjoy - all the family will enjoy it and be moved.”

Grundy Art Gallery Curator, Paulette Brien, added: “Jason’s work embodies everything we love about contemporary art in Blackpool - it’s bold, thoughtful, inclusive, rooted in place and absolutely full of life. We’re thrilled to have him lead our autumn programme and to see his work light up both the gallery and the seafront.”

The exhibition is already attracting plenty of attention and is on now at the gallery, on Queen street, until Saturday December 20.