When we started reading about Jasper Joffe's latest project, "The Sale of a Lifetime," in Art Daily, it rang a bell. Joffe plans to sell "all his possessions, including his collections of paintings, drawings, teddy bears, and rare books. He will only keep the clothes he is wearing. The number 33 will be a recurrent theme throughout the exhibition, which will be installed in 33 different lots, all for sale for £ 3,333, as Biblical reference to death and rebirth."
John Freyer went about this same kind of project in a slightly different way, putting all his possessions up on eBay, including, eventually, the domain name at which he catalogued his sales. And then there's Luke 12:33, which does encourage you to sell all your stuff but doesn't, in any translations listed at that link, say anything about making an art project out of the experience.
all true, most art projects have a history behind them, like most paintings. the most looming precedent would be Michael Landy's destruction of everything he owned... I think the differences include that this show talks about the value of different areas of life from paintings to kitchen appliances (with a time of credit crunch and art market uncertainty, as well as my own personal crunch), and secondly the show (which will include over 100 paintings) will be a summing up of my life and art, and will be a physical exhibition as opposed to a virtual one on ebay. i think the precedents add to the richness of the project (hopefully!). Jasper Joffe
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