Supermarket Day 2
Day 2 did not start well. After such a successful day installing Play I was expecting a similar enjoyable and productive day. Almost as soon as I arrived Pontus (one of the Supermarket organisers) told me that there was a problem with Play but that I should not worry, he said he would come back when everyone was there so we could talk about it. He went to do something else. Then Estella from Kulturhuset arrived on the scene and said that it was likely that Play would have to be taken down and could not be shown elsewhere due to the combustible nature of the videotape. After explaining that the installation had been cleared by Supermarket we decided the best thing was to get everyone together to try and resolve the situation. I was more confused than stressed. It is good that I am a calm person.
Eventually, and after a less than helpful phone conversation via Estella, the chief of security arrived. The problem was not actually my work but its proximity to the glass surround the spiral staircase. The concern was that in the event of the fire the heat generated by the burning videotape might cause the glass to crack. It was explained that the glass is original (from the 1970s) and therefore not up to today’s standards. I understood that however I was a bit concerned as it was also explained that the spiral staircase is a principle exit route in case of fire. It still doesn’t sound right that a large public building can have a fire route that does not meet fire regulations, the glass in question is only ‘georgian-wire’ glass it’s not as though there isn’t a modern version that would look identical.
In the end I agreed to move Play so that it was never closer to the glass than 1.2 meters. It was either that or not show it at all. Moving it significantly altered how it worked and how it looked in the space, however I felt as though I did not have another (viable) option.
The rest of the day went well but my mood was rather flattened by the morning’s events. Roberto and I had done everything we were asked to do in advance of installing the piece, we’d sent details of the materials, dimensions and the proposed location. It seems that there was a break down in communication between Supermarket and the security department at Kulturhuset.
News of the controversial artwork spread around Kulturhuset – Hampus met a former tutor of his who was working on an exhibition in another part of building and she asked what he knew about this “dangerous artwork”. Part of me feels that I should not have compromised, however the greater part of me feeling that I took the best decision in bad circumstances. I am also aware that should I want to work with either Supermarket OR Kulturhuset again I will have far better chances than if I had been angry and difficult.
I ran in to Estella many times over the course of the fair and she was always friendly and went out of her way to help me with things that she was not really responsible for.
I am aware that artists can easily gain reputations for being difficult to work with. I always try to avoid this no matter where and with whom I am working. However in Stockholm I am (perhaps too) aware that I am also a foreigner and don’t want to risk scuppering international artistic relations! Once again I am very grateful that Hampus was there with me to translate.
After helping me with the installation Hampus also helped Roberto and Cecile. I was concerned that Roberto’s sauna was very absent, and was then amazed at how quickly he was able to create it.
