Mutate Britain

One Foot in the Grove

Mutate Britain aims to take art out of the gallery and into the city − where it reaches and entertains a much broader swathe of society. Their governing principle began with Joe Rush and the Mutoid Waste Company −mixing art into a bigger event and making sure everyone enjoys it. We took Artist Liaison Officer, Jo Dunne out of her busy schedule to explain to us what makes this event so special and why the general public have nothing but positivity for their project.

Jo Dunne Interview

- Can you tell us about the history of Mutate Britain? What is it and how did it all begin?

Jo Dunne: Mutate Britain first did a show last year at Cordy House, in East London. It is a collaboration between Mutoid Waste company and UK's finest contemporary artists. Mutoid Waste was set up by a guy called Joe Rush, who over the years, has hosted large areas of Glastonbury music festival and alot of the artists know the Mutoids from that area, because they are responsible for going down and painting all the artwork for Glastonbury.

- I like how you call them 'Mutoids'; like they are a different race of people!

J: Well, they are definitely a different race! They are the supreme beings! They have an alternative lifestyle and could be termed as 'pure' artists. They really live for their art and are on the road constantly and are always being invited to large festivals like Glastonbury, The Burning Man & Fuji Rock Festival. Many of the Mutoids have their base in Rimini, Italy; where their main workshops are. There are also some based in West London too.

- And how about the artists that you have onboard? Tell us more about theirs and your link to the world of 'Mutation'.

J: I met Joe Rush about six or seven years ago at a show that Pictures On Walls organised, called Santa's Ghetto. He had created a piece for the show called 'Ran Over'. It was a Range Rover that had its middle part removed and the sides re-joined, meaning that it spelt ran Over instead of Range Over! I really liked that sculpture and decided to get in touch with him.

Over the years, I have always worked on the Santa's Ghetto shows and have developed a good relationship with many of the artists who in turn, have come and worked with the Mutoids for the Mutate Britain show. That's one thing I really love about it is the fact that it seems to bring alot of artists together and they seem to be happy to work with us on these large-scale projects. it doesn't matter what agent you have or which gallery represents you, everybody just wants to be involved with Mutate Britain. it's almost like an artshow, put on for artists by artists.

- Who actually selects the artists that are involved?

J: Initially, the artists were chosen by Teddy Baden, Liam Hayhow, Joe Rush, myself and Garfield Hackett. Sometimes, artists will approach us and if we like their work, then we will ask them to be part of the show. I always thought that it would initially have been impossible to organise and manage 120 artists, but now I know that nothing is impossible!

- Are there any themes running through the show that the artists must try and adhere to?

J: Not really. As long as their work is of the highest quality and standard possible, we then allow them to do anything they want. The works have a very broad appeal and can be for both the curious public looking to possibly buy a 25GBP print, to the serious art collector looking for a 10,000GBP original. So we are trying to bridge the divide between the two types of viewer and of course we have a fully licensed bar which helps to keep people inside the show too! It feels more like an event, instead of just a show. We have had people coming down every weekend to just hang out and look at artwork.

- I saw that on your website, it says that you want to integrate the general public into the show. Are you running any educational workshops alongside the show?

J: We have a wonderful artist called Carrie Reichthardt, whose medium is mainly ceramics and applying transfers onto them and she just unveiled a community wall last Wednesday evening. Lots of different artists all combined forces to work on a wall together, which we hope will still be there, even after we have gone. Part of the money we make from Mutate also goes towards the Single Homeless Project as we are firm believers of trying to give back to the community in some way. We have had quite a few tile workshops and we have had many local children coming in to create tiles (some of which are now featured on the community wall).

That reminds me actually; we had one ten year old child, called Kai Solomon Bow, who has been coming to the show every weekend since we opened and last weekend he brought me a picture he had made of a robot and asked me if I could sell it. We actually managed to find a buyer who bought it for 20GBP so this is one young artist to look out for in the future!

- How helpful have the council been towards your project in terms of planning and permissions?

J: They seemed really keen for us to have the Westway location, which was great for us as it was the home for 1980's graffiti writers so it seemed perfect for what we wanted to do. Many of the artists that we worl with were teenagers spraying on the basketball court walls back in the day and now they are able to do it in a more 'official' way! It has brought more attention back to the Portobello area, which has always been an area of cultural significance in London city's history. One thing I should also mention is that we are not publically funded in any way. Any money that we do make onsite is used to organize and hold the show. Unfortunately we can’t seem to secure grants and so all the sales genuinely help to keep the shows continuing into the future.

- Will the Mutoids be going to Japan this year?

J: Yes they have been asked to show at the Fuji Rock Festival. They will fly direct to Fuji and take out some pieces. However, they will also be making quite a few pieces whilst they are out there. They get locally-sourced scrap metal and other bits and pieces ready and organized before they head out to Japan. They can work so fast and get brand new machines up & ready within three weeks!

Mutate Britain : www.mutatebritain.wordpress.com

Jo Dunne : jo@itsjo.co.uk

Written by Selph