Liam Gillick Erasmus is Late Nameplates, 1995

A series of brass nameplates relating to Liam Gillick's 1995 book Erasmus is Late. Each part of the edition includes five names from the book where one name is missing from each set.

Liam Gillick’s Erasmus is Late is a story about Erasmus Darwin, brother of the more famous Charles Darwin. In the book, Erasmus wanders through contemporary London, becoming absorbed by different sites. Lost in his wanderings, Erasmus is late for a dinner party whose illustrious guests include Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense under John F. Kennedy; Masaru Ibuka, co-founder of Sony; and Murry Wilson, father of Brian Wilson. A central tension is created with the knowledge that this dinner is taking place on the night before “the mob” is redefined as “the workers.” For Gillick, Erasmus Darwin epitomizes free thinking as an activity: a form of political pursuit dependent on wealth and leisure. The book combines discursive passages with elements of slapstick.