Summary
Costermonger's Barrow II is an old wooden market barrow which Landy acquired second-hand from stall-makers in south London and repainted in green, red and orange enamel paint. On one side of the barrow a semi-legible inscription carved into the wood possibly indicates the barrow-owner's name and his marketplace number. The wheels have an iron ring around the outside which would originally have protected their wooden structure from damage on rough London streets. This has been painted over together with all the other parts of the wheels. It is the second of two similar barrows appropriated at the same time. Costermonger's Barrow I (Timothy Taylor Gallery, London) is painted yellow and red.
In 1988 Landy graduated from Goldsmiths' College, London, and participated in Freeze, the famous student art show curated by Damien Hirst (born 1965) in London's Docklands which marks the beginning of what has come to be known as the yBa (young British artist) phenomenon. Like others of his generation, Landy was taken up by a commercial gallery (Karsten Schubert, London) at his degree show and began to exhibit in major gallery spaces almost immediately. His early works provide an ironic reflection on the spirit of capitalism and consumerism prevalent at the time, a major factor in the development of the yBa phenomenon in itself… (read more)
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