A thought-provoking art exhibition touring the UK is coming to Bristol this week - and it might make you think twice about shopping on Amazon. From Wednesday, Bristol’s Centrespace gallery is to show a brand new, accessible and relatable artwork all about the ‘Stinking Rich’, including billionaire Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon.
Starting in Plymouth and then heading to Penzance, Cornwall, Stinking Rich: The Cost of Wealth is now touring the country. Bristol's up next, before the show heads to London and then Macclesfield. The poignant work reflects the artist’s research into the extreme wealth of several individuals globally. Artist, Andrew Swan, said: “My art practice has been the observation of how we value others through class, wealth and privilege.”
Andrew volunteers at The Streetfood Penzance Project in Cornwall, a charity providing hot meals to the homeless and vulnerable. He continued: “A large influence has been based on my experiences volunteering for the Streetfood Penzance Project. From the extreme poverty in local communities to the extreme wealth of individuals in the UK and globally, I wanted to pursue the strand of my art practice of basing my art on truth and to challenge the accepted norms that are occurring in our society, such as, that it was acceptable to have extreme wealth whilst extreme poverty in the world is prevalent and increasing.”
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‘Stinking Rich: The Cost Of Wealth’ is at Centrespace gallery from June 30 – July 7. One visitor, who saw the show in Plymouth, said: “Brilliant exhibition that really makes you think. I love the use of apparently medieval effigies to portray modern western oligarchs. The metal etchings transport you back in time - you expect to see a portrayal of a long-dead person, but suddenly you realise is that ‘effigy’ is of a contemporary, with much more global influence than people had centuries ago.”
"Poignant, moving, educational, clear, intelligent, a lot of work on it. Very inspiring and heart-breaking at the same time," says visitor Anairda.
In mediaeval times, the rich feared being buried alive, which could happen often in those days. Wealthy folk had tombs prepared, built above ground for their corpses to lie in. These stone crypts were not effective at banishing odours and the stench would waft across the graveyard, hence the term ‘stinking rich’. Andrew's exhibition consists of seven ‘tomb covers’; these striking metal statues portray a standing image of each billionaire featured, beside each artwork.
Among the seven billionaires is Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon: 'The man with the greatest personal wealth in the world' (according to 2020 data). Mr Bezos, an American entrepreneur and media proprietor, has a personal wealth of an estimated £143 billion. ‘Amazon abuses’ are listed on the plaque alongside artwork representing Jeff Bezos.
Billionaire, Jim Radcliffe, owner of INEOS, a global chemical company also has a place in the ‘Stinking Rich’ exhibition. He’s ‘the man who benefitted most from Covid in the UK (2020)’. INEOS abuses are stated on the plaque alongside the metal statue portraying Mr Radcliffe. These include being the ‘largest climate polluter in Scotland’, and the political influence of Jim Radcliffe includes ‘refusal to comply with EU Air and Water Pollution regulations’. He was also a supporter of Brexit and a financier of the Brexit campaign, The exhibition plaque also detail the ‘marketing whitewash’ of INEOS.
All billionaires at Andrew Swan’s exhibition are shown in the artwork with their individual content filled plaques alongside them. As well as Jeff Bezos and Jim Radcliffe, you’ll find the ‘richest female in the world’, Alice Walton of Walmart, the ‘richest female in Great Britain, Kirsten Rausing, Tetra Pak, James Dyson, the ‘richest man in Britain’ owner of Dyson, British female billionaire Denise Coates of BET365, the woman who ‘benefited the most from Covid’.
‘The only billionaire who has given away all of his fortune’, is also exhibited, Irish Chuck Feeney, the co-founder of the Duty Free Shoppers Group. Mr Feeney donated £7 million to the Cornell university, plus substantial donations of his wealth to left-wing Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein – historically associated with the IRA. Chuck once said: “I cannot think of a more personally rewarding and appropriate use of wealth than to give while one is living.”
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Artist Andrew explains how he made the ‘tomb covers’ for the exhibition: “My current art process (along with film and sculpture) has developed over the last few years and has now established itself as etching in to metal plates using a Copper Sulphate/salt /water solution. This method of etching is relatively safe and environmentally friendly (in comparison with acid based etching techniques). The copper sulphate crystals are readily available from farm supply shops and are used by farms as a disinfectant in foot baths for cattle. There is still an environmental impact from the waste sludge produced by the chemical reaction between the metal and the copper sulphate but I prevent this from entering the water supply by straining and re-using the water.
“The metal plates I etch on are used recycled printing plates sourced from a printing company I live opposite to eliminate any carbon footprint. The wood for the frames I construct to mount the plates on are sourced from discarded wood from skips and building sites.”
Reviewing the exhibition, Journalist William Cook, says: “Innovative and provocative, drawing fascination and disquieting parallels between past and present. A Cri de Coeur and a call to action – everything contemporary art should be.”
