BELOVED comedian Johnny Vegas is set to return to the Island in September for a two-week-long solo art exhibition in St Helier.
The comic, whose real name is Michael Pennington, previously chose Jersey as the destination for his debut ceramic show back in August 2023.
The collaborative art exhibition marked the first time that Mr Pennington had publicly displayed his art pieces in a commercial gallery setting.
His sculptures – which explored themes of fame, imposter syndrome and the anxieties of commercial success – were shown alongside pieces created by local artist Nicholas Romeril, South African portraitist Lionel Smit and Wirral-based sculptor Emma Rodgers.
But three years on, the St Helens-based actor is now making the trip back across the Channel for a fresh exhibition consisting solely of his own work, which will be hosted at the Private & Public Gallery.
Speaking to the JEP, art dealer and Private & Public Gallery owner Chris Clifford stated that the comedian-turned-artist had “simply never done anything on this sort of scale”.
“It was a group show last time, and this now is a solo show – the first time I think he’s ever done a full solo show,” Mr Clifford said.
“He’s taken off the whole of July and the entirety of August to commit to this exhibition and he’s making a whole body of work, none of which I’ve seen – which mildly terrifies me.
“Where before there were two limited edition prints and three small sculptures, there is now up to 25 pieces; so it is a lot more work and everything about it is upping the ante from where he has been before.”
Mr Clifford added that the idea for the return exhibition, which is sponsored by Jersey-based financial services company Enhance, emerged from a fortuitous encounter on the beach.
“I bumped into one of the guys from Enhance about a year ago at Portelet Bay,” he said. “He said it was their 25th anniversary and asked if it would be possible to give Johnny Vegas a solo show.
“And I just picked up the phone and said ‘where do you stand?’ And he replied ‘I’m up for it, I’ll do it’ and it was as simple as that.”
Mr Clifford said that Mr Pennington, who came to Jersey ahead of the exhibition for four days to meet the sponsors, enjoys a natural affinity with the Island and its people.
“He takes everything at face value,” the gallery owner said. “He’ll stuff his face full of Jersey ice-cream, he’ll go and have a crab linguini, drink too much coca-cola and lay on the beach and get sunburnt: a classic northern tourist.
“For him, it has always been a holiday destination and the things that he likes are watching reruns of Bergerac, so he’s always looking at the Island from rose-tinted spectacles.
“Michael just enjoys what’s in front of him, he gets into the moment – like all good artists do – and immerses himself in an experience before becoming creative in the studio.”
Despite his client’s relatively brief stay in Jersey, Mr Clifford said he was bombarded with stories from Islanders claiming to have seen the popular comic and TV personality around the Island.
“He brought his sketchbook and his camera, and then just hired a car for a couple of days and just went off.
“I heard loads of reports along the lines of ‘I’ve just seen your mate Johnny Vegas out at Corbiere Lighthouse, or Archirondel’.
“Another one said he was in the car park at La Moye prison: apparently he had his picture taken with loads of prison officers – god knows what that was about.”
The art dealer believes that Jersey had become a safe haven allowing him to explore the less overtly comic dimensions of his character.
“I think a long-term ambition of his is to be able to sort of halt being Johnny Vegas and just be Michael Pennington, and the art is a way in which he is hoping to transition from one to another,” he said. “But – as he continually reminds me – Johnny still pays the bills.”
