Merchbau

A group exhibition curated by Tom Cardwell and Juan Bolivar

Where merch becomes art and art becomes merch

Merchbau presents a selection of artworks and artist’s multiples as an exploration of the intersection between artwork, merchandise, spectacle and gallery. The title references Kurt Schwitters’ Merzbau, an evolving installation packed with sculptures that itself became a total artwork, before it was destroyed by bombing in 1943.

Merch stands are a common fixture at gigs and form a key part of metal music culture. Fans collect merch to show their allegiances, and merch sales are an important income stream for musicians following the decline in sales of recorded music.

Like merz, merch is all around us, it’s the stuff of life that commemorates our existence. Like art, merch is sold and collected. Raising revenue and bolstering support for artists.

The artworks in this show offer connections to metal culture through iconography that charts the human condition, and through the mercantile ritual of the merch stand. The gallery will be transformed into the Merchbau, an immersive environment of art and metal.

Merchbau presents artworks-as-merch, a selection of unique works as well as limited-edition multiples, from paintings to patches, from t-shirts to prints.

• Organisation