The Other Art Fair 'Fortunes In Pencil'

Last weekend I had the pleasure of exhibiting at The Other Art Fair in London, held at the iconic Truman Brewery on Brick Lane. It is always a great environment - buzzing with artists, collectors, and curious visitors - but this time I decided to approach my exhibition in a slightly different way.

Instead of simply displaying finished pieces on the wall, I created an interactive concept called “Fortunes in Pencil.”

The idea was inspired by fortune cookies - those small, mysterious messages that somehow always feel strangely relevant when you open them. I loved the playful element of chance and surprise, and I wanted to bring that feeling into an art context / social experiment.

For the project, I created a series of hand-drawn works using coloured pencil, each one featuring a fortune cookie quote and displayed the original drawings on the wall. But I had a different idea for the prints. Rather than letting visitors choose a specific quote, each print was placed inside a red box, sealed so you couldn’t see which fortune was inside. When someone purchased one, they were essentially choosing a mystery. Only after opening the box would they discover which quote they had received.

Watching people interact with the idea throughout the fair was one of the highlights of the experience. There was a real sense of curiosity - people picking up boxes, shaking them gently, trying to guess what might be inside. Some loved the gamble immediately, while others hesitated for a moment before committing to the surprise.

When the boxes were finally opened, the reactions were priceless. Some people laughed, some read their fortune aloud to friends, and others quietly smiled as if the message had landed in exactly the right moment. It created a kind of shared experience around the work that felt very different from a traditional exhibition.

What I loved most about “Fortunes in Pencil” was that it removed the pressure of choosing the “right” artwork. Instead, it became about play, intuition, and the little thrill of not knowing.

Art can sometimes feel very serious, but creativity often thrives in moments of humour, imperfection, and surprise.

And judging by the smiles (and a lot of very curious box openings), the experiment was definitely worth it.

Next showing at The Other Art Fair in Brooklyn, April, 16- 19, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Agger Fish. Hopefully see you there.