It was famously said of Stuckism “It’s a dirty job but someone’s got to do it.” Likewise, freeing Heckel’s Horse from the anti-STUCKIST MANIFESTO captivity it’s been languishing in for the last 13 years is a dirty job I, Heckel’s Horse Jr., am Stuckist dutybound to do. Every other avenue has been slammed shut by a Commercial Art world that clearly has no interest in STUCKIST MANIFESTO essentials, like sharing our work with the public and not being shackled by career artistry and mainstream conservatism. It was a recent Instagram post from my friends at L-13 that inspired this campaign, details below, and finally made me realise that if I don’t get things moving with Heckel’s Horse, no one will. If Heckel’s Horse’s failure to be properly brought to public attention isn’t seen as supporting those that create barriers for political gain, then there’s truly no hope. Billy’s been trying to get Heckel’s Horse out the door ever since soon after we started painting them, so what chance does a complete nobody like me have? Even if none, it’s my STUCKIST DUTY to try. Worrying about results is a luxury no true Stuckist has. The STUCKIST MANIFESTO calls for Stuckists to not fear failure. BLACK IVORY proudly wallows in failure every time we video podcast live (tune in, Thursdays 7pm UK time on @ronthroop Ron Throop’s Substack account) for over an hour to an audience of between zero and three. Every time we play a gig exclusively to the sound engineer because none of our useless friends showed up. Everytime we put up a fully STUCKIST MANIFESTO compliant exhibition in our home that’s attended exclusively by its participants. Success to BLACK IVORY is in the process, not results as conventionally understood. The STUCKIST MANIFESTO calls on us to be intrepid broadcasters of uncensored expression. Uncensored expression, like this, is no less than the STUCKIST MANIFESTO demands we reveal “with intimate and unforgiving breadth and detail.”
I don’t know why I ever thought a Commercial Art world would welcome Heckel’s Horse. Heckel’s Horse isn’t Commercial Art, so why would they show it? I doubt it’s even possible to exhibit anything that isn’t a safe bet if your bottom line’s money, and not the art. The STUCKIST MANIFESTO was right, art belongs to the amateur, not the professional. Nothing as ground-breaking as HECKEL’S HORSE stands a chance in the Commercial Art world. FREE ART FREES ART is where BLACK IVORY belongs. I should have known, but never mind. I can bring a bit of public awareness to the Heckel’s Horse cause, and call out some of the despicable practices I’ve experienced from those who portray themselves as legit art dealers. If the same dodgy Herbert’s who erased my attribution from the other work Billy and I made in collaboration did the same with Heckel’s Horse, I’d guess they’d stand to make a fortune by nefariously cutting me out of the pie, again. A thing I’ve learned very recently is that if you’re expecting anyone else to stand up for you in these situations, don’t. It’s neither their responsibility nor job, it’s yours. This isn’t a complaint, just an experienced reality I’d like to warn others of. The Commercial Art world is a cesspit. You can tell who its participants are by what they’re covered in and keep spouting. Lies, garden paths, grin-f**ks and hot air. I’ll start the FREEDOM OF HECKEL’S HORSE campaign properly when back from Thailand in early 2027, but in the meantime have released a series of small handmade posters highlighting the plight of poor old Heckel’s Horse. They’re already in my online shops and have started selling. Early indications are positive. Here is the text written on the paintings below:
Paintings 1-21:
Heckel’s Horse is a Billy Childish & Edgeworth Johnstone painting collaboration, where both artists make essential & substantial artistic contributions throughout. What Billy’s quoted to have said in “To Ease My Troubled Mind”, saying Edgeworth “might play a bit of bass” is completely untrue and an insult that falsely dismisses 13 years of Edgeworth’s work on the 150 or so 6 foot Heckel’s Horse paintings Billy and Edgeworth have painted together since 2013. Likewise, the attribution on the oil transfer drawings Billy & Edgeworth also made in collaboration, that were falsely attributed solely to Billy, is also complete crap.
Paintings 22-27:
Heckel’s Horse is captive of the same “main stream conservatism” the Stuckist manifesto declared to be the sponsors of Brit Art. Stuckist manifesto exhibitions are “in homes and musty museums, with access to sofas, tables, chairs and cups of tea.” Too unprofessional for the likes of Heckel’s Horse. Stuckists are manifesto dutybound to display our work “in public, thereby enriching society by giving shared form to individual experience and an individual form to shared experience.” “The Stuckist is not a career artist” that sits in storage containers waiting for Commercial Art to decide when optimal business conditions allow for its release. To do so would be anti-art and support those who create barriers for political gain, as my friends at L-13 recently publicly castigated me for doing, on my Instagram. Stuckist manifesto: “Leaps of human endeavour are made by the intrepid individual, because he/she does not have to protect their status.” Heckel’s Horse Jr. leaps while Heckel’s Horse protects its status, victim of the “commercial exploitation” the Stuckist manifesto saw in Post Modernism when it called for an art that “dares to communicate its ideas in primeval pigment”. Heckel’s Horse communicates nothing in captivity.
