Zoo Art Fair 2009
http://www.zooartenterprises.com/
This week London was slapped in the face by the art fair, we were spoilt for choice with Freize, The Free Art Fair and my fair of choice Zoo. So much art so little time I hear you scream… or not. Most of the people I encountered this week, when faced with the question of which to go to were dumbstruck with a look of horror as the art market’s sense of reality set in.
Why I chose Zoo? I got a free ticket. But regardless of this fact I’d never been before and I was intrigued to see what the non-profit making organization had to offer. This year the fair saw a change of venue, located in the multi-location industrial building just off Shoreditch High Street, formerly the Nicholls and Clarke home, Zoo housed both curated exhibitions and presentation stands. This less formal exterior at first gave me the false hope that such a fair would hold less pretense, I later found out to the contrary…
I firstly opted for the structure to my right which held exhibitions by LUX, Studio Voltaire and FormContent. I was warmly welcomed by a nice young man donning a duck egg blue safety jacket, ushering me up the stairs to where LUX had their show, he cheekily smiled gesturing ‘Enjoy the show ladies,’ obviously knowing what was the central piece of ‘Film As A Subversive Art’. Walking into a dark, slightly old looking room I was greeted by an enclosed film screen showing a young guy manically masturbating in loads of different positions followed by a scene from Sesame Street. This looped video being the creation of London based artist, James Richards and artist and writer Steve Reinke, the film entitled ‘Disambiguation’ (2009) lasted around forty-five minutes and came about when the pair decided to swap found footage via the post, each taking what the other gave them, editing it and then sending it back. This interesting methodology made for a crazy build up of symbols and reference in the form of video montage, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Whilst making my way round the other buildings it became apparent that Zoo prided itself on the presentation of not only established artists but up and coming talent also, with pieces by artists such as Scoli Acosta and Daniel Jensen positioned next to the likes of Mike Nelson and our good friend Damien Hirst. My afternoon centering around the performance of artist Anna Barham, whose piece entitled ‘Karolina, Helka, Andrew’ anchored itself around the idea of tangram, a mysterious Chinese puzzle, allowing for three dancers to negotiate themselves around a number of large white, wooden shapes. This sequence seeming like a strangely poetic furniture maneuver, containing moments of both tension and slight humour.
I was starting to feel like Zoo wasn’t as pretentious as perhaps I’d first imagined, until I reached the book stand, where I spotted a beautiful copy of John Bock’s ‘Gribbohm’ occupying the top shelf. My eyes widened as I tried to reach the edition, failing I looked back at the attendant in anticipation that he might be able to help me out. He approached me expectantly as I politely inquired about the possibility of a look, ‘I’m afraid that book is very expensive and you can only look if you can afford it, it’s not in print anymore you know,’ he said. I slowly recoiled moving away embarrassed that I looked so much like student scum that my grubby hands couldn’t possibly touch such a precious book. Whoever said art fairs were for everyone was very wrong!
To check out some of the work featured here’s a few links
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