It’s any art lover’s fantasy, being able to parade the title of ‘art collector’ but knowing that your bank account is not dropping into minus figures. For one magical summer’s day dreams can be made reality as The Art Car Boot fair comes to town and takes over the Brick Lane yard on Sunday 9th June.

The Car Boot picked up from the idea of Joshua Compston’s ‘Fete Worse than Death’, which made a splash in the 90s, with an aim to interject some fun back into an ever increasingly commercial art market. It has now grown from it’s origins on Brighton pier, where the 18 pitches included one manned by Jake and Dinos Chapman, to a mini festival in its current East End resting place.

Capturing the essence of a very British past time of mooching between stalls, rummaging for bargains and having a spin on the tombola while your at it- the event showcases handpicked up and coming artists rubbing shoulders with their A-List counterparts to flaunt their wares from car boots. Alongside this is an eclectic range of entertainment and food to keep all ages and cultural preferences amused in the sun.

Fancy an original Peter Blake or Billy Childish for under £50? They will be enticing punters along with fellow artists Tracey Emin, Polly Morgan and Bob and Roberta Smith to the beats of The Groucho Club’s Bernie Katz.

If the bustle of market bartering becomes too much then a quick spritz up in Johnnie Sapong’s pop-hair grooming salon may be in order (after all who knows what celebs you might run into) before waltzing though the handbag disco to win bags from the likes of Jimmy Choo to compliment your new arty bargains.

Sarah Lucas infamously stated in an Observer interview- ‘it was great, people kept showing us their knobs all day’- ok so a great British past time with a bit of YBA party edge thrown in. 

In fact, it’s nothing like a car boot and it seems apt that this year’s anniversary event follows in the wake of Jeremy Deller’s debut of ‘English Magic’ at the Venice Biennale, an installation that he has associated with the artist being ‘the kid at the back of the class who makes sarcastic comments about the teacher’.

The East End is (despite its recent gentrification) still a hub for emerging artistic talent and the true spirit of this is celebrated at the Car Boot with an exceptional array of new names every year. Amongst those to be invited for the 10th anniversary are the dynamic duo Tinsel Edwards and Twinkle Troughton. Old friends and collaborators on many the occasion, with a catalogue of staged art heists, who, have reunited to throw their eye-catching slogans and iconoclastic paintings into this vibrant melting pot of carnival excess. Francesca Goodwin caught up with them in the days before the car boot to see how they were preparing for the hullabaloo. ……….

Francesca : What first attracted you to get involved in The Car Boot?

Twinkle: We've previously had pieces of work featured on Gabby Young's ‘Gabberdashery’ stand there and ever since we've wanted to have our own Twinkle and Tinsel stall- this year we are able to do that! The ACB's attraction is that is it really unique. To put it simply: it's just really good fun! All the stalls have a twist in some way, usually in that they are interactive somehow, and there is always loads of work there, which is really edgy and relevant. It's not just to do with buying pretty things to put on your wall. It's also an amazing opportunity to buy prints and pieces by huge name artists that unless you have a big bank account you wouldn't normally be able to do! It’s also totally different in the sense that the artists themselves are involved and are the sales people, it's not just the work on a gallery wall. 

Tinsel's work at the Gabberdashery stall a few years ago

Tinsel: I’ve been going to the Art Car Boot for many years, and always loved it!  As Twinkle says it’s really good fun with a buzzing atmosphere and (fingers crossed) glorious sunshine. There are usually lots of beautiful 1960’s Vauxhall cars on display, they have bands playing and it is always jam packed with amazing artists selling their work. The Car Boot provides a brilliant opportunity to meet them as well as purchase their work and it’s that which makes it really unique.  We are so excited about running a stall there!  

F: It's conspicuous that the fair runs just after the Biennale in Venice. This year that’s’ had an even more political and universal focus- as well as being about engaging people with art how else is there a broader message to the Car Boot?   

Twinkle: There is always a strong charity focus on the event each year, and the organisers donate the funds to Just For Kids Law . This year it's being done via an Art Pass the Parcel where participating artists have been asked to donate work or something from their stall to a pass the parcel which people have to buy a ticket to take part in.

Tinsel: They are also doing a handbag disco for the same charity, which sounds like fun! Lots of handbags have been donated by all sort of people and designers, all proceeds from ticket sales go to the charity and you get the opportunity to win an amazing handbag!

Image by Philip Whitby

F: There’s a huge emphasis on making art attainable for all, how does that fit with what you’ve got up your sleeves?

Twinkle: We will be running our ‘Bank of Twinkle and Tinsel’ which is definitely for all, so it fits in perfectly! We want people from all walks of life to let us know how they feel about money, about the economy, about how it affects their lives politically or personally or whatever it is they want to say on the subject, plus they get to take a Twinkle and Tinsel banknote with a quote on in return, so it's an exchange of thoughts. It's a free small piece of art for taking part and sharing a thought. We will also be selling some of our own prints and affordable pieces alongside the bank.

Tinsel: Twinkle has said it all really! The Art Car Boot is the perfect environment to run The Bank of Tinsel & Twinkle. Our bank is all about exchange and sharing, and interaction with the public, so hopefully at the Art Car Boot everyone will be up for participating, sharing their thoughts in exchange for one of our bespoke Tinsel & Twinkle banknotes.  

F: So have you created unique pieces for the sale rather than 'underselling' originals?

Twinkle: The word affordable is different from artist to artist. Tracy Emin is selling prints for £200, which is very cheap for her work but expensive compared to ours. So we'll just be selling our own work at our own relevant prices.

Tinsel:  We will both have some brand new prints on sale, of pieces, which we have not exhibited previously.  We have a duo exhibition coming up at Galerie Michaela Stock in Vienna at the end of June, and we have both created new paintings for this show, the Art Car Boot will be the first time we have shown prints of these brand new pieces. We have also produced a collaborative print specifically for the Art Car Boot, which is inspired by the Bank of Tinsel & Twinkle, and this is on sale for super cheap!

Twinkle: It's based on a very simple mathematical sum which we believe would benefit everybody, which is if all people use their capital without a greedy consciousness then the outcome would be a very different world to the world that we live in today. We are aware that many do this already, but if more people just gave a bit more thought to what they can do to help those around them with what they have then miracles would probably happen!

Image: Tinsel and Twinkle’s exclusive new print for the Car Boot ‘Capital Divided’

F: That’s certainly great for aspiring young collectors. What do you hope to personally get out of the fair- the visitors all seem to have a pretty good time…

Twinkle: We really want to get a great response from the visitors to our bank, to have people write thoughts on banknotes and to interact with our kidnapped banker, who will also be collecting for the chosen charity. I just love knowing what people have to say and I can't wait to add to the Bank's collection of thoughts.

Tinsel: The Bank of T&T is a long-term project, which will pop up in many places; we even have a blog to document its progress.  It is brilliant when people contribute their thoughts, and as we go along we are building up a big collection of the opinions, thoughts and feelings of people from all walks of life.  So yes I really hope people will want to be involved and contribute!   I also can’t wait to just enjoy the atmosphere on the day and hopefully meet lots of people and see lots of wonderful art.

F: How’s it been for you both to collaborate again?

Tinsel: Although we work individually as artists we often collaborate, our friendship goes back to childhood and we share similar creative and political concerns. So it follows that we naturally work really well together!  We have worked together on several collaborative art stunts now, including dressing as Traffic Wardens and giving away free art disguised as parking tickets.  We like doing light hearted, playful stuff which is a bit of fun but deals with more serious issues.  

  F: So who else should we be looking out for…

Twinkle: I always love Bob and Roberta Smith's stall. I love his rubbings that you do yourself, his work always has such a thoughtful and poignant and often witty message.

Tinsel: Me too, Bob and Roberta has always been one of my favorite artists, and it’s brilliant to see his work on display, I always wish I could buy lots of it! I am also looking forward to L-13 and Billy Childish, and the Museum of Everything.

F: ….and who are you most hoping to rub shoulders with?

Twinkle: The visitors! 

Tinsel: Yes, everyone who comes along on the day! We hope to see you there, please do come and visit our Bank.

The Art Car Boot runs between 12-6pm, Sunday 9th June 2013 Brick Lane Yard on the corner of Brick Lane and Buxton Street Entry: £5

For more information see the Art Car Boot website