VENDING ART

(Article originally printed in "Ditched" magazine.)

Mini masterpiesces at two quid a pop

AS YOU WALK DOWN LONDON'S BRICK LANE, YOU MAY HAVE SPOTTED A FEW BRIGHT YELLOW VENDING MACHINES CALLED HAYVEND. DROP £2 IN, AND OUT POPS A RANDOM TINY PIECE OF ARTWORK.
"Having an exhibition is fun, but I suppose the novelty of the vending machines hasn't worn off yet." says John Hayward, who set up the vending machines in 1995 with the aim of selling and promoting artists' work in an alternative way. To date, about 200 artists have submitted work that has been sold in machines all over the country. You will find them in coffee shops and art galleries such as the ICA.
John found his first vending machine lying dumped in Bristol's docklands. "At that point I really had no idea what to do with it, but had an inclination that it could be put to some use. The deciding factor was that the friend I was walking with had a car, and offered me a lift back to the studio with the machine. Otherwise I may have left it there," John recalls. Once installed in the studio, a process of investigation and appropriation began. A collection of art works was made by artist friends during an open studio weekend. The funniest and best thing John has received from an artist so far came from Phil Marsden, who wrote a miniature comic book based around a vending machine in Japan that sold used panties! It tells the story of a chance romance and the blindness of both fate and love. Just one of the things you might get for your £2. John's ambitions for Hayvend do not stop in Britain. His brother-in-law is on his way to the South Pole and will be taking some art work and a Hayvend flag with him, which will be photographed on location. "It's more to draw attention to the project and to have some 'on-site' research material for further applications. Small packs of my and other artists' work will be left on location," John says.
"Working with Hayvend has enabled me to play with lots of my creative ideas," says John, adding, "Nobody else has done it, so it feels kind of unique."