“This is gonna work, baby. I’m so excited,” I say, eager to get started.
I message Sarah back to explain why I want to remain anonymous, and to my surprise she is on board right away. She likes that it could give a sales boost. We arrange to speak over the phone as email would not be beneficial with so much that needs discussing.
I use the burner phone Dom picked up, which is untraceable and disposable. Sarah Vance's number appears on the screen and I press call. She answers within two rings.
"Hello?"
“Hello Sarah,” I say and don’t give any introduction.
"Is this the artist who submitted the portfolio?"
"Yes."
"Great. Thank you for making time to talk. I'll get right to it, I have to say your work will certainly appeal to a lot of buyers that I know who love art that crosses boundaries. The crime scene photography, the human studies, the environmental pieces and drawings, truly breathtaking."
My chest swells with pride.
"Thank you."
"I want to show this work, so I was thinking a solo exhibition, full curation with a small opening night with pressand collectors. Twenty to twenty-five pieces total. Can I ask, do you have representation currently?"
"No."
"Would you be interested in Void Gallery representing you?"
"What would that involve?"
"It’s a standard gallery contract. We handle curation, installation, sales and press. You provide the work. We take forty percent commission, you keep sixty. I'd preferably like to start with the solo show in around six weeks from now if you can make that timeline work."
Six weeks. Six weeks to prepare.
"I can make it work," I say. "But I have conditions."
"Okay."
"As I mentioned in my email, I don't do public appearances. I don’t consent to artist talks, interviews or press photos. The work is public, but I'm not."
"That's... unusual, but I think we could make it a selling point. It will certainly attract the press and any social media interest. They love a good mystery, a reclusive artist. The only issue is that some collectors do like to meet the artist."
"The work either sells itself or it doesn't. I'm not interested in being a personality or anything, I just want to share my vision."
"Alright," she says. "I can work with that, but I'll need some way to communicate with you. Email? Phone?"
"Email only after this, with the address you have."
"And your name? For the contracts, the catalog?"
I hesitate, unsure whether to give her nothing, stay completely anonymous, or give her just enough to make it legitimate.
"You can use R. Bush for financial purposes, but RB as an artist," I say. "That's all you need." I decided to use Bush after the singer Kate Bush. Don’t ask me why, she just happened to be on the radio when Dom was trying to think of names to usefor another bank account. He managed to get me set up with another ID too. I love that man.
"RB, okay, and banking details?"
"I'll provide banking information via email and everything can be handled remotely. I trust you to keep this confidential."
"This is very unconventional, you know."
"I know. But those are my terms."
