Yesterday we finished the setup for our end-of-year, assessed exhibition at the Talbot Rice Gallery. As I mentioned in earlier posts, first year postgraduate students were divided up by seminar group (each seminar group has a different tutor but uses the same lesson plan) of about six students. Each seminar group then, keeping the theme of “Fair” in mind, decided what they would curate in the Talbot Rice Gallery, and set out to do so. I have heard rumours of the other groups plans, but really have not seen anything they planned to install until the install.
Our group, myself, Tim Dodds, Laura Robertson, Cathrine Hellberg, Suzanne van der Lingen and Eoin McCormack, decided to interpret “Fair” in the traditional sense of an art fair, yet take it back to its roots of the seasonal, community festival. These festivals were not only an opportunity to see new products and wares (and new artwork in the case of art fairs) but also an opportunity to socialise with people you may only see a couple of times a year. We decided to emphasise this social aspect by creating and installing a pub, based on the kind of refreshment tents you might find at a fair. From this concept came the Trolley and Chips.
We have one room in the gallery, about 13×30 feet in size. Stairs to the upper floor are located at one end, and the other leads into the larger main gallery area. Between these to egresses, we needed to keep a clear path. There were also two doorways at the stairwell end that we needed to keep unblocked.
With the help of the Talbot Rice’s extremely talented technician, we built the bar in between the doors, centred near the wall at the stairwell end of the room. At the other end, next to the main entrance is a stage. We have three tables with stools which are scattered between the bar and the stage. On the walls we have posters advertising the different beers we are serving, as well as some we aren’t. To one side we also have a mini fireplace, salvaged from a dumpster and above that hangs Boris the pig head.
The whole thing came together through the hard work of each of us. I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s opening.
Here is the artwork I designed specifically for the show. Each product takes its name from one of the collaborators, and several of them are products (which we rebranded) that we are serving.