Heckel’s Horse Jr. was Born of Necessity

Heckel’s Horse Jr. is an alias I use for paintings I make that are based on the collaboration paintings I’ve been making with Billy Childish since 2013. Billy and I have painted 150 or so collaboration paintings together so far, the vast majority in oil on 6ft tall stretched Belgian linen canvas. We call this partnership Heckel’s Horse. Being younger than Billy, I tag “Jr.” on the end for my solo versions.
Ron Throop @ronthroop and I talked about Heckel’s Horse Jr. in tonight’s Black Ivory Podcast (full video above). Here’s some of the transcript:

Ron: …failure if I try to follow the Turner Prize winners, their world. It’s always seeking other people’s approval. That’s the worst way to go, as an artist.

Edgeworth: They’re all doing what they think’s expected of them. That’s what I don’t like about all that lot. And the whole gallery system is “We expect this of you. Are you going to play along?” That’s why I’m using mostly Heckel’s Horse Jr. for FREE ART FREES ART.
FREE ART FREES ART is perfect for Heckel’s Horse Jr. because Heckel’s Horse Jr. exists, at least partially, for the same reason FREE ART FREES ART exists: Frustration with how the gallery system stops Billy and I doing what we want for Heckel’s Horse. So, do we play along with their rules, or do we find our own way?
Heckel’s Horse Jr. was, at least partially, created because the galleries saying the Heckel’s Horse work shouldn’t be shown, for some crappy art world business reason. Fine, I’ll do it myself then. That’s what FREE ART FREES ART is. FREE ART FREES ART says “We see the way artists always plump for the galleries way of doing it. Either get accepted into the art world once in a blue moon, or they don’t. And then they’re on the conveyor belt. It’s the same thing. So Heckel’s Horse Jr. is the FREE ART FREES ART of artists. I’m going to marry the two and try and make it make sense in a press release when I get back home.

Heckel’s Horse Jr. was born of necessity. Maybe to show what’s possible if you divorce yourself from the rules of what you’re being told you should do, and doing the complete opposite. Heckel’s Horse Jr. is doing the complete opposite of what the gallery people are telling Billy and I to do with Heckel’s Horse. It’s the complete opposite. It would disgust them to do anything Heckel’s Horse Jr’s doing because it’s not their values. Heckel’s Horse Jr. doesn’t care about the things they care about, which paralyse Heckel’s Horse from being able to exhibit, because Heckel’s Horse Jr. doesn’t care what the art world thinks.

The only artistically satisfying thing about Heckel’s Horse is what Billy and I do in the studio. Everything else about Heckel’s Horse is completely unartistic and counterproductive to any artistic goal, I think. So I just do Heckel’s Horse Jr.