The (on-going) saga of part 131 of the #365ArtDrops piece.  Part 131 was painted on a piece of hardboard found on a Hackney back street, one of three painted on what looked like one-time pieces of an Ikea-style book shelf, black shelves from a smashed up piece of furniture left on a Hackney street.  Part 131 was painted on, hooks and strings were added, details stuck to the back of the piece, and off it went with about a dozen other numbered pieces that were hung out around Hackney Wick during the last weekend of June, off to hang on the streets during the Hackney WickEd weekend.

Part 131 was hung on a gate not far from Stour Space gallery and just around the corner from the DenCity weekend installation, hung on a gate that had been painted (a longtime ago) by Sweet Toof. We hung it, took some photos and left it there for someone to take (should they wish to that is). From what we see, most of the art drop pieces are taken rather quickly, some hang around a little longer but they do all appear to be taken (I keep half-expecting a council official with a clipboard to get on my back about litter, so far that hasn’t happened).  Seems no one really got a chance to take part 131, according to other people, it got painted over rather quickly, appears someone attacked it rather quickly with black spray paint, got all Rothko with it, none more black, no idea who or why (well no, not quite true, note was taken in terms of who had been painting just up the street with black paint that day). Once a piece is hung it really is out of my hands, not for me to say what should or shouldn’t happen to it, if someone wished to paint it black then painted black it shall be it (although this one did feel destructive rather than creative). People sent in photos, commented on it… there it was, painted black but still hanging where it had originally be left

So the piece was retrieved, repainted, and last week rehung back out on the street, Bethnal Green this time, top of the ever evolving art-filled Clare Street.  And there it hung throughout the weekend until some railway workers came along to repair the bridge yesterday. Will it survive? What will happen next? Who painted it black anyway? What was that about?

On with the #365ArtDrops, 215 of them out there now, part 216 and 217 almost certainly going out later today…. 215 out there already, 150 still to go, it really is a year-long piece of work,,,

.