Affordable Art Fair - An interview with curator Jessica Hall

Affordable Art Fair - An interview with curator Jessica Hall

05 October, 2010
by: Tom Jeffreys

Tom Jeffreys talks to Recent Graduates exhibition curator Jessica Hall ahead of London's Affordable Art Fair.

One of my favourite parts of the Affordable Art Fair is always the Recent Graduates exhibition. Every October, the front of the big marquee in Battersea Park is given over to the works of this year’s art school graduates, and – because across the UK all the degree shows seem to take place pretty much at the same time – this is a great opportunity to see the pick of today’s young talent, without having to travel all over the entire country. Which, given the state of transport these days – and the fact that I’m too incompetent to drive a car – is something of a blessing.

To find out more about the selection process and what to look out for at this year’s Affordable Art Fair, I met up with Jessica Hall, who curates the exhibition every year. This involves, as you might imagine, a fair bit of travel. “It’s difficult,” Jess explains, “because all the degree shows take place within a two or three week period, which means that things like Free Range are great because they bring work to London from across the country. In previous years I’ve been up to Scotland. That’s up at four in the morning, in Glasgow by lunchtime, then over to Edinburgh. You have to fit it into a weekend; otherwise you miss out on the other shows. It’s a shame because you don’t want it to be all about London – and actually this year it has ended up being very London-centric, but that’s just the way it turns out sometimes.”

Jess compiles a long list of 120 artists or thereabouts before inviting around 40 to apply for the exhibition. The final exhibition involves about 20 artists and Jess is particularly excited about what’s in store this October: “This year we’ve got an amazing installation [pictured above] – it’s a logistical nightmare but it should look incredible. It’s lots of fabric sacks, formed into a sort of arch. This dips into a tray of engine oil, which soaks up through the sacks, turning the whole piece gradually from white to black. It’s very beautiful. But a big tray of engine oil in the marquee – it’s going to be quite complicated!

I can’t imagine who would be able to buy a work like that – it certainly wouldn’t fit in my wee flat – and wonder how much Jess has to take that into consideration. “It’s kind of a balance,” she explains. “During the couple of weeks of the shows I go to about two or three a day, so I can’t actually spend that long at each one. So what I’m really looking for are pieces of work that actually make me stop and give them time. I suppose that mimics in a way the experience of visitors to the fair – because they’ve also got so much to see.”

Aside from the work on show – which is consistently interesting and strong – is the way the Recent Graduates section complements the rest of the fair. And Jess agrees: “when you walk into the main bit of the fair it’s always very busy. So Recent Grads provides an intermediate area and a bit of breathing space. Because we’re not solely commercial, I can hang the work in a way that one of the commercial galleries probably couldn’t. It’s almost like an anteroom to the rest of the fair. People often come out of the main fair, sit in the Recent Grads section for a bit of a breather and then dive right back in again.”

That’s almost exactly what I always do! And, having been allowed a sneak preview of some of the works on show, I’ll be saving up my pennies in preparation. Saatchi better watch his back…

Affordable Art Fair is at Battersea Park from 21st to 24th October 2010.

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Image credit: Infected Field by Dominique Ruffell. Engine oil, fishing wire, cotton, steel, wood. Approx 2.9m x 1.8m x 2.4m (h)

Tom Jeffreys