Confiscation Cabinet, SEMHD school #1, London; made by Guy Tarrant, 2010

Clear acrylic rectangular box-frame, containing a number of found objects confiscated from children who attended a Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties school in London, all mounted with adhesive to a white-painted MDF backboard. All items within the cabinet is individually labelled with the school year and gender of the child it was confiscated from, what the item is, and the year it was seized. The items are:

1-3. Baseball caps (x3): New York Yankees, Burberry, Nike
4. CD case
5. Pack of Rizla cigarette papers
6. Various cigarette lighters (x5)
7. Fake cannabis joint (containing tea)
8. Cigarette case
9. Homemade glove puppet
10. Brut deoderant (used as flamethrower)
11. Chair remnant/door knob (weapon)
12. Finger trap (Sellotape)
13. Taped pens
14. Jewellery
15. Fake pound coin
16. Fire extinguisher pull (missile)
17. Personal stereos
18. Personal stereos
19. Pocket radio
20. Pagers (x2)
21. Recording device

The eight Confiscation Cabinets were exhibited at the V&A Museum of Childhood from 9th November 2013 – 1st June 2014, and have also been shown at various other venues including: The Life Centre in Newcastle, South Hill Park Arts Centre and OVADA 'At Play', The No Format Gallery 'Out of the Box' and Leeds University’s 'Pumped Up Kids' exhibition. The works were purchased by the MoC in 2017 [2017/86] (see museum nos. B.1 to 8-2017).

Guy Tarrant has been making artworks since 1987. These have covered many different approaches, spanning over fifty different projects. They are always ‘Reflexive’ in their approach; that is to say they always seek to reflect issues pertaining to the situations the artist finds himself to be in. These artworks have always sought to challenge the formal processes of art. Tarrant later became more involved in teaching and shifted his attention to addressing the education process itself. He became increasingly concerned with focusing on the role and responses of participants and their behaviours.

Confiscation Cabinets formed part of Tarrant’s 'Resistances Project', which spanned over two decades of artistic work, exploring concerns about unsettlement and low well-being within London schools. During this time, Guy liaised with over 150 different schools, mostly working in the capacity of a Supply Teacher, collecting visual evidence of resistant types of behaviours. This took the form of confiscated pupil artefacts, vandalised school furniture, and school landscape photographs.

They form a large series of wall mounted cabinets, containing everyday confiscated items withheld by teachers which were never claimed back. The artwork seeks to highlight behavioural divisions around age, gender and culture. As an archival collection it looks particularly at aspects involving jewellery, toys, electrical gadgets, sportswear, drugs, sweets and weapons.

One of eight Confiscation Cabinets made by artist Guy Tarrant (see museum nos. B.1 to 8-2017).

B.7-2017