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Delano Sweet MAFA
Sweet MAFA is a direct reference to Gavin Turk's 'Cave' which infamously gained him a fail for his MA at the Royal College in 1991. This piece is a similar blue heritage plaque commemorating that failure and gently questioning the necessity of a recognised theoretical underpinning and qualification in art practice.
As heritage plaques by nature are site specific, in this instance the wording had to refer to the University of Brighton, as this is where the plaque was installed. The double negative here is used intentionally, not to convey the opposite ie that Turk DID get an MA at Brighton (which he didn't) but to emphasise that Brighton was NOT the place where he DIDN'T get his MA.
Sweet MAFA was installed on the outside of the Grand Parade campus at The University of Brighton, after not inconsiderable objection from the academic art institution that it gently and politely critiques.
'I am impressed by the way that language has and is simultaneously both wrapping up and unravelling your project. Keep me posted...
best
Gavin (Turk)