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| Art writer Elizabeth Homersham interviews Liam Scully about his project 'Liam Scully's Liquidation Sale' an initiative to raise funds for his forthcoming residency in Skaftfell Iceland. |
There's something about
the liquidation sale that seems very tongue in cheek and totally in keeping
with the tone of the work of yours I've seen. Can you comment on this? I mean I
realise that it's a fundraiser but you could have done that more quietly,
selling cheaply to people you know or through an 'artist's car boot fair'... I
kind of love the theatricality and the literal cheapness of the way you're
framing this sale.
I
have always reacted to what is around me, something to do with my impulsive
nature. My wife, Vanessa came up with the title and I said yes that is truly
brilliant. But like what is happening around us, high streets closing up,
families struggling to feed their kids while the rich jolly it up, I am very serious
in what I say. I am forever broke yet continue to make my art regardless, the
art builds up and storage is becoming impossible. What’s more I have been
offered this residency in Iceland and I have to find a
way to fund it, this way I kill two birds with one stone, do away with old
stock and make some money to make new stock. I do like the cheap element; many
artists overrate themselves with ridiculous prices that no one in their right
mind should pay. Recently at London art fair I see young
galleries showing young artists who are technically competent yet
excruciatingly uninteresting; their prices are inflated beyond belief. These
are artists likely to drop out of fashion very quickly and the collectors will
be left with a worthless picture. Yet a veteran and true original like Rose
Wylie can be purchased for as little as £3’000, here you are buying a piece of
art history. So it doesn't worry me that I may cheapen myself, I am not a
fashionable painter and I am happy to be playing by my own rules.
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| Private Jet and Bagels, enamel, gaffa tape and acrylic on canvas, 2013 |
What's up for sale?
Pretty
much everything I have done in the last decade that is still in
my possession. Some of the work I consider not so good but I am putting it
out there so the people can decide, drawings from 2004, 05,06,07 are there
right up with works made the week of the sale. Dieter Roth, an artist who had a
studio in Iceland where I am heading was
unconcerned with ‘quality control’ this freaked out some of his collaborators
such as Richard Hamilton, I relate strongly with that unapologetic attitude.
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| Coke is it, acrylic on paper, 2004 |
Anything you don't want
to part with?
No
everything must go, I have spent long enough with most of the work and I think
2013 is a potential turning point for me, where I can make new work without the
burden of older pieces. Who knows I may see the old pieces again one day.
Have you catalogued/photographed
the stuff you hope to sell?
Vanessa
has helped document most of the work but there are definitely drawings that
have not been photographed, if something like that goes I will snap it with my
mobile phone.
Is there some criticism
of the art market/the way in which art is valued here?
I
guess I feel disenfranchised with the "art market". Since 2003 I have
been working hard to make my work and so on, the few occasions where I have
shown my work to a potential gallerist they have not wanted to take me on, or things
look promising and the gallery goes bust a week later, this is alienating so I
have to create my own opportunities. I wouldn't want to criticise the art
market as some day I would like to be a part of it, I am simply highlighting at
this moment we are separate entities. People often say your work is only worth
what people are willing to pay for it and the people I know, or the people that
appreciate my work don’t have a lot to spend. Therefore this sale is for the
people who genuinely like what I do. The whole sale is an interactive
performance where everyone’s a winner.
How cheap are
liquidation prices?
Drawings
will be as little as £10 up to £700 for my painting of Mr Blobby that is
framed. Small paintings are on average £250 but some are £50. Compared to my
contemporaries these figures have been liquidised.
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| a selection from 'Currant Bun series' 2008, acrylic on paper, £75, size A0 |
Do you intend to
explore new techniques or subject matter once all this old work is out of the
way?
Yes
that is an important part of this whole thing, like business going bust and
being bought out by a new company I think after Iceland there will definitely
be new things happening.
What do you hope to
gain from your residency in Iceland?
Space
and fresh air will do wonders for my psyche, I feel my current painting is too
much about claustrophobia, anxiety and frustration and I need a change. London is not the most accepting
place for my work; I refuse to play up to certain expectations. On the other
hand Leipzig in Germany has been very generous
in its response to my work, where I have shown numerous times and even sold
ambitious scaled work. I hope Iceland will be kind with an
appreciation for my energy and style too, I have a feeling I may receive more
acclaim abroad, so it is good to expand ones horizons.
Do you hope to meet new
people from this sale?
Yes
I hope to reach people who are not familiar with my work; that would be great!
I love to meet new people.
Does the idea of
liquidation/closing down sale imply some concern of yours for other failing
businesses, shops and galleries?
Death
of the high street is a worrying sight, I dread to think what their replacement
will be, more empty offices? It will be a great shame to loose HMV and Jessops,
both are stores that I actually enjoyed visiting. These stores are only the tip
of the iceberg with many more to follow, however according to government
figures unemployment is coming down.
An
artist doesn't really ever close down unless death ensues but metaphorically I
am closing down a period of my practice and evolving, the money and the removal
of my old work is contributing to my future development, you could say the
supporters are bailing me out of stagnation.
