Earlier last month I finally finished moving out of my old studio in Leegate Shopping centre, which doubled as the Museum of Neoliberalism, and into my new studio in the middle of a roundabout in Sydenham. I've been at Leegate for nine years, and as you can see from the photos here, I accumulated a fair amount of shite in that time.
The move took four non-stop, gruelling weeks, and a massive thanks to the folk who donated their time and sweat to helping me move, I thank you from the bottom of my unbroken back.
Thanks also to my Leegate neighbour, Maxwell Anderson who took these photos as part of a record of the last Leegate tenants.
This place was my first art studio, before this I was working out of my bedroom and the kitchen table. I was only able to afford the (relatively cheap) rent at Leegate because of the prints and postcards and t-shirts I sold at Banksy's Dismaland in 2015 as part of my Pocket Money Loans installation. When I moved in I didn't know what to do with that much space, I didn't know how to organise it, I also didn't know I had ADHD.
So as much as it's a shame to leave I'm also quite glad at the opportunity to reset and plan a working space, in tune with how my brain actually works, from the ground up.
For the last few weeks I've been in the process of setting my studio back up in Sydenham, and orders are being shipped again. It's a mess here but I'm slowly getting things into a workable order.
I was sad to leave Leegate, I've become friends with many people I met there, from my neighbours to regular visitors. And many locals have said so many nice things about the museum and what if meant to the community. I couldn't be happier with what myself and (museum co-curator) Gavin Grindon were able to build in that space, but we've always seen this as a prototype for a larger museum, and next year we'll start the process of trying to establish that museum somewhere new.
Thanks to everyone who ever visited, supported or spread the word about the museum. We will be back!
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