The artist turning Brexit into a medieval-inspired performance at a London department store

It was the German cultural theorist Theodor Adorno who noted in 1970 that “great artists since Baudelaire were in conspiracy with fashion.” He wasn’t all wrong. Today, from privately-owned art foundations to specially-commissioned retail experiences, cross-over collaborations abound — for better or worse.

Earlier this month, Selfridges’ Oxford Street flagship kicked off an unlikely series of artistic interventions. On the top floor, three contemporary artists were invited to occupy the space between Chloé and Gucci as part of Like It or Lump It: a project promoting art in unexpected places, courtesy of SKIP Gallery (that’s right — it’s a skip.)

“I love doing art things in unlikely places,” Paul Kindersley tells SLEEK. The London-based artist, best known for his YouTube makeup tutorials, wall paintings and gender-bending DIY attires, will be performing his collaborative piece Ship Of Fools at the landmark department store on select dates until the end of the month.

Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s 15th century painting of the same name, the performance will turn the skip into an fantasy ship — also the stage for a Ionesco-esque, inconclusive dialogue between five erratic characters. “The ship of fool has its own rules,” affirms Kindersley, 33, who enlisted friends and strangers to perform alongside him, donning specially-made costumes. “It doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of society. It’s meant to be a microcosm, but they’re all idiots,” he laughs, pointing to a metaphorical vision of contemporary Britain, as it cuts its ties to the European Union: “It’s hard not to have it on your mind!”

Kindersley, who was featured at the Hayward Gallery’s recent DRAG exhibition, has cultivated a long-lasting relationship with skips over the years. The performer and self-identified ‘stalker’ rescues most of the materials for his flamboyant performances from the street, and has done so for a long time. “My mum used to be like, ‘why are you coming home with giant electronic wires?’,” he remembers. So, when the opportunity arose to work straight from the source, how could he resist: “a match made in heaven!” he jokes.

You can see why the Chelsea College of Art graduate would feel at home, sandwiched between Chloé and Gucci. “It’s quite similar in a way,” he laughs, “I hand stitch my stuff too!” And where most of the art world would raise an eyebrow at art outside of the white cube and among the commoners, Kindersley sees an opportunity: “It’s weirdly utopian in my mind, a big department store,” he continues, evoking Andy Warhol’s love for non-spaces. “It’s quite equalitarian, everyone can go to Selfridges.”

Ship of Fools takes places at Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, London on select dates until the end of March, 2019