Be careful what you wish for, it is said. Paul Bowles, writer and composer, wished for it all to come down and he has certainly got his wish, albeit posthumously, as the whole damn show smashes to smithereens, real time, in front of our disbelieving eyes, including the world of art, contemporary art in particular. So, time to clear out the garbage and think about starting over. And speaking of garbage….

A recent trip to Beijing and a haul out to the sprawling mass of the 798 art complex, an ex armaments production facility, way out on the fourth ring road on the edge of the sprawling, mega city. For those of you who have been there, maybe you were as amazed as I was of the sheer scale of the place: an endless range of huge industrial factories, now cavernous galleries. How could the economics of it work? From what I saw, they don’t. It now looks to be just another part of the tourist trail: digital-camera, trigger happy tourists, shiny cafes and trinket shops. The Hong Kong fashion retailer I.T. has opened a space there.

Supposedly the smart art money has headed out to Cao Chang Di, way out on the fifth ring road. Another ex industrial complex being developed into 20, very large, galleries. Here, I was assured, is where the real collectors would be. But they weren’t, and they wont be any time soon, it’s out in the wastelands beyond the fifth ring road remember. What WAS there was the extreme poverty of shanty Beijingers trying to survive, trying to grind out whatever existence they possibly could. Their ‘village’ starts literally 2-metres from where Cao Chang Di ends. And there I saw the villagers rifling through piles of garbage. I saw it and I wanted out and I wanted nothing to do with hyped up, over valued ‘art’. So yes, take out the garbage and let it all come down….