Barter Archive is a community-led archive constructed by artist Pat Wingshan Wong in collaboration with the fishmongers at the Billingsgate Fish Market at Canary Wharf, London.
The archive engages with the idea of barter physically and symbolically. It includes memorable objects ‘bartered’ by the artist using her observational drawings of the happenings in the space, as well as videos that document stories and memories of the people. It preserves the collective memory of the Billingsgate community and challenges the domination of capitalism, highlighting and questioning the ways value is assigned through culture and society.
Over the past three years, Wong has immersed herself into sketching the Billingsgate Fish Market every morning at five o’clock from Tuesday to Saturday, thus opening up dialogue with the fishmongers. As an early exploration of individual and communal identity, she recorded and documented the fishmongers’ stories, and witnessed their strong community bonding. However, the City of London Corporation announced a relocation plan which will move the market to Dagenham, an industrial suburb, in the next five years due to the rapid city development at Canary Wharf. Wong has since sought to construct an archive that involves the fishmongers in order to give visibility, respect and compassion to the invisible or marginalised communities.
The process
Wong created highly personal sketches and 3D-scannings stemming from individuals’ lived experiences, providing an innovative perspective to conventional institutionalised archives that prioritise tangible objects over ephemeral stories and effects.
She engages with the fishmongers and incorporates their voices into the works based on transparency and mutual trust. In Barter Archive, Wong transforms passive artwork creation into active socially engaged practice, and at the same time probes, the ways in which ‘value’ are defined in our society amid urban development.
Through bartering her drawings with the fishmongers’ memories, the artist determines what records have enduring value with the community who may not otherwise engage in archiving, denoting a bottom-up and grassroots method of re-examining history.
Billingsgate Influencer - Big Greg’s
Yes, my friends, Big Greg, will present a series of short videos promoting the lovely fresh seafood in the market including Shetland mussels, cod cheeks, Pil Pil prawns, hand dived scallops, etc. Haha happy Saturday. how nice x my friends x To know more about Big Greg, please follow his Instagram: @big.g.smilingon
The sketches
The Bartering Process
Wong used her observational sketches of the Billingsgate Fish Market in exchange for memorable objects of the fishmongers. By using the language of bartering, she opens up a dialogue with the Billingsgate community and investigates the public and personal significance of the space, and how it is affected by the rapid urban development of Southeast London. Once the barter has successfully been conducted, they will have a 15-minute video interview to document stories with photographs and videos. The memorable objects will be returned to the fishmongers after 3D scanning and printing.
Fishmongers’ objects
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Project Director, Curator, Artist: Pat Wingshan Wong
Co-Writer & Content editor: Vivien Chan
Website Design: Max Kohler
3D scan: Hannah Terry
Documentation Photographer: Jimmi Ho
Creative Technologist: Kachi Chan
Co-Writer & PR: Wan Yi Sandra Lam