A Journey to the LFTFLD

Jul 21, 2011 | by Ciaran | Art

About the author

The name's Ciaran, a 27-year-old guy who loves the idea of a discovery, even if it actually isn't one. Among many other Sherlock Holmes adventures, searching for art and music is what keeps me going. High Five!

Greeted by a (fake?) dead goat kid in a box with potatoes and tomatoes all ready to go in the oven, I entered the intimate Chiellerie Gallery. It was the opening of a new expo organized by the Amsterdam based cultural collective LFTFLD. They’ve been around since 2004, hosting parties, bringing out magazines and more. Seems about time to find out a little more.

The other side of the coin

LFTFLD is all about the other side of the coin, the ‘leftfield’. As they put it themselves: ‘a platform for culture and counter-culture.’ The collective is built up out of an interesting group of people that strive to give people who are ‘different’ a chance. And all this without any gifts from our friends at the government; hats off! For their new expo they went for a balanced mix of reasonably well-known artists and artists who are only just emerging onto the scene. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen the name Laser 3.14 sprayed somewhere in the city. To be honest, I didn’t get much further than the first 4 names on the list. But a name doesn’t guarantee anything of course.

The small expo (which sadly enough only lasted for one week) should be seen as an inspiration and an indication of the possibilities for young and upcoming artists. My winner of the night was Chloe Suprenant; definitely the most intriguing artwork in my eyes. I just wish I had the balls to scratch off the red ‘sold’ sticker and claim my prize.

My suggestion is to keep your eyes open because there are definitely more good things on their way. And for the artists, photographers or any other creative minds lost out there, go ahead and take a step over to the leftfield.