Created initially in 2011 during a research trip to Berlin, the project was realised over the coming 3 years in an extensive research & development phase and a site-responsive tour to galleries, performances and abandoned buildings – supported by Arts Council England. The featured image above was created in collaboration with graphic designer Andrew Spiller and shows the main themes of the work – global finance, gentrification, conspiracy theories and the rise of fascism.

The Ballad of Skinny Lattes and Vintage Clothing takes the viewer on a journey into the dark heart of capitalism revealing the artist’s culpability in a process of globalisation. Underlying themes emerge within the installation including the city, public space, psychogeography, Jewish cultural identity,  the fetishisation of “vintage”, gentrification, financial markets and a revolutionary middle class.The Ballad of Skinny Lattes consists of a number of components – music, Super 8 film, text and interrelated sound works which draw the viewer and listener into an immersive six-movement installation. William Blake, Wall Street, the London riots, Berlin, the Occupy Movement and the Futurist Art of Noises manifesto are some of the various inspirations and constituents of the work.

The work is available for commission as a site-specific residency and performance – please contact us for further information. The performance itself is approximately an hour long and features film by acclaimed director Tim Newton (‘Art Party’ with Bob & Roberta Smith) and is suitable for galleries and studio spaces as well as site-specific.

The touring version of the work launched at InTRANSIT festival in 2013 in an abandoned underground car park at the iconic Trellick Tower in West London. Lewis Elton Gallery, University of Surrey then commissioned the work as an installation and an edition was acquired by the Estorick Collection in London for their permanent collection.

A dedicated project website is at www.skinnyvintage.com.