ANGGREK AGENCY
SELL, SELL, SELL!
Tuesday, 15 April 2025
23:15 Zurich
23:15 Zurich
This interview is adapted from our iMessage exchange.
Steven Anggrek (sending Stuart Sandford a photograph of him, taken last year when he was in Zurich)
Stuart Sandford: Love it!
Anggrek: Hello Stuart! Tomorrow is your big day!
Sandford: I never saw this photo. Do you have a high resolution version of this? It looks like it was taken in the 80s. (commenting on the aforementioned photo, see below)
Anggrek: It’s taken on film last time you were in Zurich.
Sandford: Ah so, it’s just not in focus. Got it!
Anggrek: Hah! You getting ready for your day?
Sandford: Nope I’m just here scanning some new Polaroid Collages in my studio.
Anggrek: What inspires you to create Polaroid Collage?
Sandford: An exploration of potential narratives between two disparate images. By combining the two it creates a new fictional narrative for the viewer.
Sandford: Wait, you still have the interview I did last year haha.
Anggrek: Yup! It’s still a draft. Need to hit publish.
Sandford: This is a great answer though. Not sure I explained it quite like that before so maybe stick it in with the other part of the interview.
(Sandford previously answered: Art and science is inextricably connected as both artists and scientists are making experiments and presenting thoughts and ideas. That’s what the Polaroid Collages have been for me, an experiment that was successful. Because it can take many months or years even to make a sculptural work, it was very exciting to be able to work with Polaroids, these instant, ephemeral objects/photos, and to make sculptures of them, instant sculptures I’ve called them.)
Anggrek: Btw there are some people who worry that Polaroid doesn’t last long. Do you have anything to tell them? Do things have to be forever?
Sandford: Polaroid can last a very long term as long as they are carefully looked after but actually I don’t think things have to be forever and I don’t think it’s the artists job to even really think about that and that goes back to the artist as experimenter or scientist as mentioned above.
Anggrek: Your birthday is tomorrow! What is your special plan?
Sandford: Watching David Lynch movie at the Cineteca nacional here in Mexico City and then having a picnic with some friends at the weekend.
Anggrek: Which movie? What is your favorite one if you just need to keep watching one!
Sanford: Lost Highway tomorrow, that’s the one they’re screening.
Anggrek: Which one is it? And which one has all the happy songs? I remember “catch the falling stars and put it in your pocket... lalalalala”.
Sandford: Texas chainsaw massacre I think.
Anggrek: LOL. You drunk.
Sandford: Alas I’m not. Oh and I have like 400 favourite movies but I could quite happily watch the first Lord of the Rings movie on repeat.
Anggrek: Wait, so... lost highway.
Sandford: Yeah. The movie tomorrow. Not my fave lol. But anything by Lynch is worth watching at the movie theatre.
Anggrek: What comes after Lynch? Who’s the next genius?
Sandford: John Waters or Gus Van Sant. As queer artists I owe a lot to both of those luminaries.
Anggrek: Pick one title from each! GVS is the director of Nymphomaniac? The one with Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Sandford: No babe that’s Lars von Trier, Gus is the director of My Own Private Idaho and I would pick that one. Also involved with my movie too!
Anggrek: Ahhhh. Right. By John? I only know Divine.
Sandford: For John Waters lets go with Female Trouble or Serial Mom.
Anggrek: I’m so uncultured, god help me.
Sandford: I am literally helping you right now haha
Anggrek: Thank you! For god is love.
Sandford: Lol. Wait is this still for the interview or can I go make a cocktail?
Anggrek: Go make yourself a cosmopolitan! Gay.
Sandford: Probably a mezcal negroni for now.
Anggrek: Btw I just (re)installed Emoji keyboard last night. And i am so happy to send this: 💅
Sandford: Love it!
Sandford: LOVE IT 👍
Anggrek: Mezcal negroni sounds good!
Sandford: Right? One of my faves.
Anggrek: Aiyooo welcome to Mehiko.
Sandford: ¡México mágico!
Anggrek: You just replace gin with mezcal?
Sandford: Yeah pretty much.
Anggrek: I would replace vermouth and bitter with mezcal too. And hold the ice.
Sandford: Hahah yes!
Anggrek: Ok back to interview. Could you please say something that we would not have guessed about you?
Sandford: The first thing I wanted to be when I grew up was a stuntman.
Anggrek: Why stuntman?
Sandford: Why not?
Anggrek: Hmm ok. What motivates you to create art? Please tell us about your creative process.
Sandford: I listen to all kinds of music and take inspirations from anywhere/ everywhere. Of course my work is deeply intimate so many time those inspirations come from the subject I’m working with, specifically if we’re talking about my photographic work. And I'm heavily inspired by art history, both ancient and modern.
Anggrek: What do you think about the art market in Switzerland, especially in Zurich? And please tell us about the experience in Mexico, Los Angeles, and London?
Sandford: I don’t have so much experience in the art market in Zurich, I have a couple of collectors there. Perhaps my work is too edgy for the market there? I would say the same for London, especially when it comes to photography. LA is of course great for photographic practice as it is, of course, image obsessed. Mexico City is very interesting but I think in terms of collectors it’s not so easy unless you’re really a blue chip artist.
Anggrek: I had a fabulous time opening the agency with PLEASURE BOY. You came to the finissage of the show! What was the highlight?! For me, meeting you in person after having been following you for more than a decade and of course meeting Marco!
Sandford: I don’t remember much about it! I’m sure it was wonderful haha
Anggrek: Do you want me to send you photos of you after negronis at the agency? I also have our selfie in front of the wrong building because you were to drunk to type the correct address on uber LOL
Sandford: Don’t you dare lol
Anggrek: Just for ig story. LOL.
Sandford: I will literally kill you
Anggrek: I am a cat. It’s ok. Your marbles sculptures! I love them! Shall we plan a group show with sculptures by queer artists for the next year?
Sandford: Oui. Why not?!
Anggrek: Is there any artist you would like to show with?
Sandford: Can you arrange Picasso?
Anggrek: He is not answering his phone! Do you have any artist friends whose work relates to you? That speaks to you?
Sandford: Yes of course! Many! Just to name a couple I would say people like Slava Mogutin and Ruben Esparza. We all three have quite different cultural backgrounds but there are many correlations in our work. Also we have a great time just hanging out and having fun, which, for an artist who makes work solo most of the time, can be very important.
Anggrek: Uhhh, sounds hot. Let’s cook it. Any tips for me?! Advice for young art dealers in general?
Sandford: Sell. Sell. Sell!
Anggrek: Ha! It is now 00:00 in Zurich! Happy birthday!!! Oh I got to use emoji again! Here goes: Happy birthday! 🥳🎂
Sandford: Gracias amor! 🍸
Available works by Stuart Sandford at Anggrek Agency:
The Portfolio XX (AP2).
Portfolio XX is limited to only 20 editions and has 20 photographic works, all taken between 2004 to 2024. Both the prints and portfolio box are hand signed, dated, and numbered (AP2). CHF 2000.
Polaroid Collage LXVI, 2021
Unique, signed en verso
CHF 1750
Polaroid Collage XIII - LA/CDMX series, 2022
Unique, signed en verso
CHF 1750
Polaroid Collage LXXIV, 2022
Unique, signed en verso
CHF 1750
Polaroid Collage LXXVI, 2023
Unique, signed en verso
CHF 1750
Polaroid Collage IV - LA/CDMX series, 2022
Unique, signed en verso
CHF 1750