Interview with Ryan Watkins-Hughes

November 7, 2009 12:51 pm

Interview with Ryan Watkins-Hughes, who presents Shopdropping at Share Festival 2009 Market Forces exhibition curated by Simona Lodi
Simona Lodi: What is shopdropping? you defined it in 2004 …
Ryan Watkins-Hughes: Shopdrop: To covertly place merchandise on display in a store. A form of “culture jamming” s. reverse shoplift, droplift. *
SHOPDROPPING is an ongoing project in which I alter the packaging of goods and shopdrop the items back onto store shelves. I replace the packaging with labels created using my photographs and painting. The shopdropped works act as a series of art objects that people can purchase from the store. Because the barcodes and price tags are left intact purchasing the altered items before they are discovered and removed is possible. In one instance shopdropped canned goods were even restocked to a new aisle based on the barcode information.
S.L.: what it mean and why are you interest to develop art and goods
in supermarket ? and why you decide to work on it thought art?
R.W.H.: Shopdropping, and other forms of culture jamming, attempt to take or
subvert ownership of the visual space that is increasingly set aside
for advertising.  While there are inherent political implications of
the work, I focus, instead, on the simple Dada-esque act of creating a
nonsensical, purely creative moment within what is otherwise, often a
mundane and overly efficient corporate environment.  Art exists within
a realm of freedom that allows it to serve no effective or logical purpose.

S.L.: have you learned anything from all the project? I mean what do you
want to prove?
R.W.H.: I’ve learned that:
1. I find it much easier to fuck with the perceived order of things
quietly and with a dash of humor than with a heavy hand and loud
screaming.  I like the simple subversion of shopdropping that calls
many things into question without being overly didactic or preachy.
2. Most people at work or shopping in a store are too caught up in
their own thoughts and mind state to notice subtle, or even not so
subtle, changes to their visual environment. A lot of us go through
our day lulled to sleep by a “to do” list of chores and things to
accomplish.
3. It is easier to apologize and talk your way out of something when
you are caught “bending” a rule than it is to ask for permission.
S.L.: You said: “shopdropping is like graffiti art “ could you explain your idea?
R.W.H.: The initial impulse to put something out there that goes against the status quo is the same.  Graffitti artists, or “street artists,” take matters into their own hands and initiate a covert visual intervention into our environment.  Shopdropping works in the same way, but instead of working within the advertising space of billboards and walls it takes the matter directly to the display shelf of the store.
S.L.: thanks Ryan.

*Due to the broadening usage of the term I have removed the sentence “Primarily used in tactical media projects and art installations.” from the definition. The increased awareness of the term “culture jamming” also makes the removed sentence redundant. The synonym “droplift” comes from The Droplift Project as linked to in the Related Projects here http://www.shopdropping.net/index.html