All Roads Lead to Rome by Chris Dobrowolski 

Chris has lovingly repaired his family Triumph Herald Estate so that he can drive it from his childhood home in Braintree to Rome via Turin where this quintessentially English car was designed.

Part investigation into his father’s time as a Polish soldier in the Italian Campaign and part muse on consumerism, All Roads Lead to Rome brings together car mechanics, a road trip, dictators and the fetishisation of possessions in a solo performance using old photos, new film and surprising mechanical objects.

Chris studied Fine Art in Hull and when he first got there he built a boat from driftwood to try and escape. 

The boat failed but Chris ended up making a whole series of vehicles in a similar vein. The way he makes things has a deliberate “knocked up in the garden shed” aesthetic and each vehicle and escape attempt has its own story attached. Over the years, Chris has retold and refined these stories as both artist and teacher, most recently presenting his lecture How To Not Make A Living As An Artist in various higher institutions across the UK.

Alongside these lectures and kinetic sculptures, Chris also makes performance work including the critically acclaimed works All Roads Lead to Rome and Antarctica. Chris is an Associate Artist of Art Exchange, University of Essex.

Chris’ book about his work ‘Escape’ (Jardine Press, 2014) is available for purchase.

Sponsored by: Arts Council England www.artscouncil.org.uk