Oliver Payne and Nick Relph have wittily conflated the artist/collector relationship with Ash’s Stash (2007) made specifically for this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach. It is on view at Gavin Brown (C8) priced at $200,000 and on reserve for an unnamed buyer. The Los Angeles-based pair raided the collection of Herald Street gallerist Ash Lange, and took their pick of ephemera including Tamagotchi toys, Walkman players and toy aliens, as well as cigars, bottles of wine, and last but not least, branded sneakers.
This is a new foray into three dimensions for the artists previously known for their work in film. Ash’s Stash is composed of cobbled together combinations of Nike trainers, record covers, and other oddities of material culture around 1997. Payne and Relph have cheekily adorned dozens of sneakers, creating unusual, ham-fisted, rough assemblages that seem miniature monuments to the commodities of the late 20th century.
The installation resembles a Prada store, harshly lit with fluorescent light and with stock stacked high on the shelves. Just don’t ask the gallerist if there is a pair of shoes available in your own size.