Drawings created on the rear shutters of white haulage trucks are done by scribing into the layer of dirt built-up from exhaust emissions. Rooted in the tradition of painting and drawing, The Great Travelling Art Exhibition takes a number of visual cues from the presentation of two-dimensional art, for example the signing of the image, or the use of the shutter surround to suggest a framing device. Travelling around the country on their regular deliveries, the trucks are not confined to a conventional gallery space, and as such the audience that encounters the artwork is likely to do so by passing chance. Lasting a finite period, though sometimes as long as six months, it is partly this impermanence and vulnerability that gives the drawings a point of interest. Whether read as an allegory for life-cycle or as a way to question the value systems of art, ownership and receivership, The Great Travelling Art Exhibition diseminates art in a democratic manner.

Ben Long, born in Lancaster in 1978, studied at Camberwell College of Art and Design.