There was a time pub vending machines sold nothing more than some out-of-date johnnies and packets of overpriced cigarettes. Those were the days. The world moves on, however, and thanks to Tom Bird and his friends at creative agency Fuck It, the punters at one London boozer are being presented with a much healthier choice from their vending machine — and what comes out will turn the walls a much nicer colour than the old nicotine brown.
Plenty of people down your local pub wouldn’t be dragged kicking and screaming into an art gallery, but if the mountain won’t come to Muhammad… The Vending Machine Art Gallery is being installed at The Fox on Kingsland Road and comes loaded with the work of 40 artists who have contributed a piece to the project, and a whole load of passion for the democratisation of art. Priced by the artists from £5 to £50, the giclee prints are dispensed just like 10 B&H or a packet of Monster Munch, with the first 10 from each artists’ limited edition of 50 prints being presented in a sealed beer bottle. Artists taking part include FT cartoonist Jeremy Banx, graffitist and fine artist Petro, and taxidermist Katie Brooks. The machine will be in operation at the pub from tomorrow until 11 June.