Proposals
photocopied text
1999
At the outset of the project, artists were asked to submit proposals for works they wished to exhibit in the Cab Gallery. When they began to receive three to four typed proposals from Peter a day, it became obvious that each proposal was a work in itself. These two were the first works to be exhibited in Cab Gallery.
Proposal No.2
potato prints on clothes
2000
A set of prison clothes to be placed onto the back seat of the taxi. These are to be left on the seat, so that when a new passenger enters the taxi they will assume that an escaped prisoner has only recently jumped out having changed into ‘civies’.
Proposal No.5
confetti
2000
Wedding confetti is sprinkled into the passenger compartment of the taxi by Jason prior to someone getting into the taxi. This, more often than not, prompts a conversation between Jason and the passenger about a fictitious wedding that has just taken place. Jason’s preferred story is that whilst driving past a church, he noticed that the wedding carriage had broken down, so offered to whisk them off to Heathrow.
North Montana Plains
wood, paint, glue
1999
Based on a series of paintings of ‘The North Montana Plains’, this was a three-dimensional recreation of one of his paintings; the installation taking up the entire passenger section of the taxi. All of the windows were blacked out, so that the only way of seeing the piece was through a crack in the Perspex passenger divider from the driver’s seat. A soundtrack of ‘The Plains’ accompanied the piece; with howling wolves and ferocious winds.
Mind The Gap
stenciled carpet
2000
Installed for the opening of ART 2000 (see The Independent Newspaper) a proposal from the book, this piece re-creates the ‘Mind the Gap’ warning seen in the London Underground.
Untitled (Robin)
C-type photograph
2000
These two photographs document an installation by Peter Liversidge. He replaced a real stuffed Robin on the back seat of the taxi to gauge the reaction of passengers. In the same way that a Robin is very territorial and dominates his surroundings, so the passenger feels protected and secure within the environment of the taxi.
Banner
plastic vinyl
2000
A plastic strip placed onto the front of the windscreen which reads ‘Jason’ and ‘Meter’. ‘Banner’ makes a reference to the practice, typically by young men, of putting both their name and their girlfriends onto the windscreen as a show of loyalty.
Proposal No.23
multi-deck CD player and speakers on stands
2001
“I propose to place a music entertainment system in the cab. The system would have the entire Domino Records catalogue on CD, perhaps one of those ‘100 CD’ CD players. If the CD player is not possible then the music could be on tape-cassette.”
The piece began as one of many ideas for projects set out in his ‘Proposals for Cab Gallery’. As proposals in the book, many will remain as abstract ideas. Sometimes though, when Cab Gallery is invited to take part in an exhibition, Peter has been able to realize an idea specifically for the private view. In this case the piece was made for ‘Record Collection’, at VTO Gallery, 27th April, 2001.
absenta.com
vinyl
1999
A painting of the ‘Absenta’ absinthe bottle. absenta.com were the first sponsors of the Cab Gallery, and supplied private views with free drink, from the launch in Hoxton Square onwards. The painting is an example of Peter’s interest in advertising and sloganeering, and echoes his series of paintings of advertisements taken from The National Geographic.
Proposal No.35
stamped ping-pong balls with the Cab Gallery number plate
2000
Artist’s Book
limited edition book
1999
A collation of all the proposals, in book form (edition 20, 2000), sent to Paul Stolper and Jason Brown for Cab Gallery. This sits on the shelf of the passenger seat in the back of the taxi. This together with blown-up proposals from the book were exhibited in ‘Arcade’ which began at The Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, and subsequently toured for a year to various venues. Susie Hamilton was also featured in this show curated by Debbie Kermode.
(sound piece) Taxi Driver
cassette
2001
A cassette piece to be played by Jason during the working day if he wishes or a private views. ‘Taxi driver’ is an edited version of the soundtrack to the film of the same name.