Artist dishes up way too soft a scoop
Fancy an ice cream? The artist Lucy Sparrow is operating a van parked near Frieze London, offering sweet treats such as 99s and Zoom lollies. But these delights may not be to everyone’s taste as the entire ice-cream truck and itsa contents—including the Mr Whippy machine—are all made of felt. Sparrow is selling Twister lollies (£60), oyster shells (£50) and other recreational products such as fake cannabis (£20). But the furry ice cream van is just too lifelike for some. “I spend most of my time managing disappointment,” says Sparrow, referring to the punters who want a proper refreshment. “Someone bought a Coke for £50 yesterday, thinking it was real. They squished it, and realised it wasn’t a drink.” Anyone for a fake Freeze Pop (also £50)?
Bet this customer didn’t ask NYE Inks (right) to draw a tattoo of a cartoon cat David Owens
Scratching the surface
The Frieze tent may come down this week, but fairgoers wanting the fun to live on are in luck. At Timothy Taylor gallery’s pop-up in Soho, the celebrity tattoo artist NYE Inks (of Skepta and Mahalia fame) has his very own tattoo stand, giving guests a work to take home—and never take off. The tattoo designs come by way of the artist Armen Eloyan, who is currently showing his colourful works in the space. The commitment-wary could, of course, just buy one of these—but if you opt for the ink you won’t have to worry about shipping.
Kate Moss (left) joined Shane MacGowan and his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, at the opening of his show Louisa Buck/The Art Newspaper
Shane’s art career is in the (sick) bag
Any gathering involving the legendarily hard-living Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan was never going to be a sober affair, and the opening of his solo show of drawings at Andipa Gallery on Wednesday night was no exception. Kate Moss, Bob Geldof, the designer Pam Hogg and Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie all gathered to toast in copious quantities the outpouring of drawings that the wild-man musician has been making since childhood on every conceivable surface, from pill packets to (many) aeroplane sick bags.
Students get a free pass
Hats off to Waddington Custot gallery which, for the third year in a row, is offering free tickets for art students keen to visit Frieze Masters (available until 16 October). “We are giving out 75 free tickets; students need to swing by the gallery to pick them up, brandishing a student card (one ticket each),” says a spokesperson for the gallery.
Photo: Louisa Buck
Water, water anywhere?
It may be tradition to toss a coin into a fountain to bring good luck, but Tomás Diaz Cedeño’s sculpture on Peana’s stand makes a sombre comment on how, in an environmentally blighted future, drinking water may be so scarce that having it in our city squares will be an act of wastefulness. Diaz Cedeño’s Frieze fountain is created from recycled packing crates and includes drowned creatures such as butterflies and snakes, cast from metal salvaged from Mexico City’s stolen and wrecked cars. But visitors are still encouraged to chuck a penny into the fountain’s murky waters as a gesture of hope that will remain as part of the piece.