Patrick Goddard - Home Invasion
I first met Whoopsie two years ago and was immediately smitten. Watching the adorable Bichon Frisé wander through a zoo, making dry-wit observations and sardonic comments about the inmates — yes, Whoopsie talks! — it was impossible not to laugh out loud, even in the face of Whoopsie yelling “You’re a stupid fish!” at the penguins. At some point, however, you began to realise that Whoopsie’s commentary wasn’t idle sarcasm. Those puppydog eyes and humourously misguided observations weren’t masking uneducated innocence, but wilful ignorance and totalitarian ideology.
Now Whoopsie is back and even less woke in the confines of her own home. That’s right… Whoopsie’s pronouns are she/her, which I found much more surprising than the fact she hides away in a shed, drinking tea from a ‘Brexit Means Brexit’ mug while playing with a scale model train set depicting the good old days of Blighty. Before the immigrants. Before the boats.
‘Whoopsie’s Dream’, a 20-minute film, is just one of a dozen works in Patrick Goddard’s latest solo show. The rest may be sculpture, but they contain the same dry-wit sense of humour the film uses to address immigration, nationalism and ‘the other’. A dead pigeon, cast from reclaimed lead, lays on the ground beneath a window you assume was just cracked by the bird. Other large windows are covered in old newsprint, surrounded by dead flies and other insects that failed to get in (or out?). Four scale models, similar to the kind you’d find in Whoopsie’s shed, depict an idyllic view of 60’s seaside Britain, except now they’re overrun with snails.
The works would be nostalgic if they’re weren’t so ominous. Broken windows, hundreds of bugs and disgusting snail trail slime give everything a feeling of unease. If the lights were dim and the gallery unattended you’d probably tip-toe quietly backwards out the door. Trust me, it’s worth it to carry on. Find your way to the wooden door and enter Whoopsie’s shed to get to the screening room — an inspired move that reminds you that you’re in an art gallery and not the London Short Film Festival.
Set on Halloween, the film opens with Whoopsie lording over her train set, spouting off idealogical commentary about a controllable world in which the trains run on time. She’s interrupted by Trick or Treaters who are dismissed with a pithy “I don’t have any treats. Besides… you’re not sitting down.” Whoopsie then retreats to the kitchen for a cuppa, explaining her brewing process in detail and sounding very David Mitchell about it all. “No sugar, of course. I’m a pedigree.”
So far, so suburban. But as we’re just seen, it’s Halloween and that’s when spooks and scares appear. In Whoopsie’s kitchen, quite literally. The lights go out. Bugs, maggots, worms, spiders and creepy crawlies appear out of the sockets, drip from the tap and scutter along the countertops. “Beasties emerging from every orifice of the house” says Whoopsie, “who’ve brought their whole families… an invasion… an infestation.”
The visuals are pure gross-out horror film, but Whoopsie’s voiceover, remaining as calm and spiteful as ever, might as well be the rant of someone nursing their third bitter under a St George flag in a regional pub. By the time Whoopsie acknowledges the parasites in her fur, commenting how it is “teething with unauthorised life forms”, you might be forgiven for thinking the film isn’t actually satire but a right-wing recruitment video that has yet to get flagged by the YouTube moderators.
Luckily for both Whoopsie and the audience, the dog wakes up. Phew! It was all just a dream. Just your typical zombie/plague invasion nightmare with Hollywood style visuals substituted for the “other” taking over the idyllic life as you know it. Except Whoopsie’s adventure isn’t done and there are further surreal twists that I won’t reveal. If you’re desperate for a hint, however, there’s foreshadowing in the sculptures.
Goddard’s film, his second featuring Whoopsie, flies by despite the 20-minute run time and you’ll want to watch it in it’s entirety. It’s funny and scary and a bit too timely given the ongoing parliamentary debates about asylum seekers and human rights obligations. Immigration is a complicated and passionate issue, and despite Whoopsie’s somewhat shocking commentary you can’t help but wonder what life would be like if the world was a bit more like her model train set in the shed. “Here the world is as it should be. Manageable. Intelligible. Predictable. Controllable. Here everyone has to be on the same page.” If only…
Plan your visit
‘Home Invasion’ runs until 23 March.
Visit seventeengallery.com and follow @seventeengallery on Instagram for more info about the venue.
Visit patrickgoddard.co.uk and follow @_patrick_goddard_ on Instagram for more info about the artist.
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Check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.
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