Nº64: Hector Campbell
South London-based curator and writer shares his summer reading list and his go-to-post-gallery dinner spot.
We’re back with Hector Campbell. Read on to find out what he’s into, and if you’re new here, hit subscribe for secret recommendations every week.
Hector Campbell is a curator and writer based in South London. In 2023, Hector co-founded Soup Gallery in Elephant & Castle alongside Betty Guereta.
☞ FAIRGROUND ART: Our current exhibition at Soup, Mitch Vowles’ debut solo ‘Miami Trip 3’, presents a deconstructed Miami Trip funfair ride developed by Mitch in collaboration with Malcolm Murphy, a sign-writer and airbrush theming artist based in Cardiff. The exhibition explores the idiosyncratic subculture of funfair art enthusiasts; adolescent influences and inspirations; a burgeoning British interest in the Americana; and the late Paul Wright’s iconic airbrush paintings.
☞ GOOGLE WORKPLACE: Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Meet and Sheets, all key tools in the gallerist toolbelt. My ‘Exhibition Index’ spreadsheet has been tracking every exhibition I have visited since moving to London in 2018, and sorts current and upcoming exhibitions by Opening Date and Closing Date, enabling me to quickly and efficiently recommend shows via my Instagram or weekly Newsletter.
☞ LAO DAO: An offshoot of Camberwell’s renowned Silk Road, Lao Dao on Walworth Road serves Xinjiang cuisine and has become my go-to for post-gallery dinners since I opened Soup on East Street last year. I also recently discovered that the restaurant’s interiors and historic 1920’s frontage were designed/restored by the award-winning architects at IDK.
☞ CIGARETTES & DIET COKE: I’m currently 8 years sober, therefore self-explanatory and necessary.
☞ SUMMER READING LIST: I struggle finding time to maintain year-round reading, so stockpile for the summer break. Currently on top of the pile to be tackled in August are Hannah Regel’s debut novel ‘The Last Sane Woman’, Calla Henkel’s second ‘Scrap’, Claire Dederer’s ‘Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma’, Aria Dean’s ‘Bad Infinity: Selected Writings’ and Philippa Snow’s ‘Trophy Lives: On the Celebrity as an Art Object’.
☞ BACKGROUND RE-WATCH: I can’t do anything in silence apparently, so admin is soundtracked by the re-watching of television series. The sweet spot is a show you’ve seen once or twice before, familiar enough to follow along with the storylines even if you’re not paying attention to the granular details. Ideally something with 5 or more seasons to tide you over for weeks/months, and remove any indecision on what to watch for that period of time. Recently: Orange Is the New Black, Elementary, The West Wing, Ozark, The Wire and Girls.
☞ SET SOCIAL: The studio provider’s anti-members-clubs members club in Peckham. With annual membership costing only £8 per year, Set Social offers a safe-haven from the crowded pubs of South East London as well as a weekly programme of live events, clubs, fundraisers and workshops.
♪ LISTENING TO: Podcasts, constantly. Recently The New Yorker’s Critics at Large (start w. ‘What Is Cringecore, and Why Is It Everywhere?’ or ‘Why We Love an Office Drama’), Tavi Gevinson discussing her Taylor Swift zine ‘Fan Fiction’ on Longform, The Rest is History’s four-part explainer on Britain’s socio-political turmoil of 1974 and noughties Saturday Night Live oral history via The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast.
☠ HATES: Fair-weather arrivals crowding lidos and pub gardens.
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