The Thousands

Manuel Ocampo is kind of a big deal. He’s a hot property painter the world over and his work is far too valuable for the likes of you and me to seriously consider purchasing. But that goes against what he is all about, so he came up with an idea to level the playing field and issue a dare to collectors who call themselves committed.

As part of his latest show at GCAS, Ocampo is offering free tattoos of his work to anyone game enough. Professional tattooist Tracey P has set up shop in a corner of the gallery and will be delivering genuine Ocampos onsite for the next two Saturdays.

The work in question is splattered across the walls of the main room, a mish-mash of religious iconography and symbols of modern culture, such as Jesus doing yoga on the cross, along with statements such as ‘ARTISTIC LAWS DEMAND THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION’. It’s confronting stuff, but then again, I’ve seen way worse, and that was just this morning out the front of Off Ya Tree.

There are only a few spots available, so interested parties should contact the gallery as soon as they read this. Don’t think about it. It doesn’t even hurt.

Image:
Theoretical Mermaid (detail), Manuel Ocampo, 2008. Courtesy the artist and Uplands Gallery. And James Deutscher’s tattoo.