My Crazy Family Golf tells Dad’s story of being the primary carer for his wife (Lisa’s Mum) for the majority of her adult life. Her complex mental illness has had profound effects on all the family and their relationships with each other. Mum’s complex mental illness has had profound effects on all the family and their relationships with each other. At the time of making the work Lisa’s mum entered residential care and this project grew from Lisa and Dad’s mutual desire to build something new to bring them closer.

Together Lisa Watts & Dad have created a series of crazy golf holes, each including audio recordings of the family made during Dad’s years of caring. Visitors are invited to play five holes of crazy golf with a handmade golf club and a scorecard to complete, as well as additional tabletop games. Fun and poignant, My Crazy Family Golf asks us to reflect on own family relationships and the nature of care.

The exhibition is accompanied by Dad Cares, a film made by Lisa that documents Dad and daughter as artistic collaborators. This is the first time Gordon has been able to work with Lisa and use his skills within a contemporary art context.

On Thursday 21 July, Lisa Watts and Becky Shaw discuss the themes that are central to My Crazy Family Golf: familial collaboration, games and when does making something social become art?

My Crazy Family Golf was produced by John Hansard Gallery, is supported by research and development funding from Arts Council England, a work-in-progress workshop session at Fabrica in 2020, and the Blast Theory artist residency programme in 2019.