Amir Dehghan The study of a Tiger’s Evolution: ZÉRUÌ

Tigers gain independence from seventeen to twenty-four months, after travelling further and further away from their mothers, developing their strength; at the age of five, they begin settling in temporary, marginal habitats until they’re strong enough to make a permanent territory of their own. ZÉRUÌ Gallery is the tiger that has started the migration process of inhabiting temporary spaces and chasing the goal of finally having its permanent territory. I’ve been on the inside of this tiger’s ambush, studying how it finds its own feet in the highly-competitive and increasingly saturated habitat that is the London art scene. This project began its chase in late February, the tiger behind the ambush being Jerry Guo. I shadowed Guo on this chase, studying how he traverses the ever-changing environment. I’ll be breaking down its evolution into two, stalk and chase, which are circular until the tiger finds its own territory. I’ve collaborated with multiple young projects, from curator based pop-up collectives to student-led spaces, helping them on their chase. One thing that differentiated Guo’s hunt from the others was how comprehensive his stalking ability was.

The stalk - The study, research and planning of the chase.

Guo was an analytical hunter at the stage when I met him, which was at the start of the following stage, the chase. Guo had already studied the environment extensively. He had selected artists that he studied and followed for months, and some even years prior, that he believed were relevant to the current art market and collectively introduced a visual discourse that was a niche in this highly-saturated environment. Guo had highly detailed proposals and designs prepped for the following months of the chase, broken down costs, time scales, and variables, all to minimise any future risks that would come when entering the pursuit. ZÉRUÌ is an example of the importance of the stalking stage. This is where ZÉRUÌ’s approach to becoming a self-feeding circular project has differed from the other young projects I’ve worked alongside. Guo knew the importance of sustainability, hence why it excelled at the stalk and thrived during the chase.

The chase - Inhabiting a temporary space and testing the programme’s sustainability.

If the stalk is successful, then the chase should almost be automatic, which it was for Guo. ZÉRUÌ found its first home in late February and was based at 108 Fleet street, central London. The programme was set to run for two shows, across four months, both show extremes of each other in their discourse. It is clear to me that, Guo understood the importance of proving that a young programme can be fluid and that this tiger can be adaptable in all habitats. The inaugural show, “A/D D/A”, a show which “explores and investigates the duality of two Greek gods, Apollo and Dionysus and their influence on western art from the ancient world to the 21st century.” This show presented multidisciplinary artists, extensive theoretical research, and proof of ZÉRUÌ’s ability to successfully present a highly conceptual, predominantly painting-based initial show, juxtaposing from the following exhibition: “Memories of a social club that never that doesn’t exist”. “This exhibition showcases an eclectic range of artists, all with distinctive language that bears the unique consequence of their respective heritage. Juxtaposing sculptures, paintings, photographs, and installations, they become a story of a social club that never existed, from memories that we never had, exploring the different cultural and social contexts of the social club, and the stories that could take place.”

Guo, this time round, presented his ability to curate a show which invites play, with game nights that almost act like participatory performances, a complete transformation of the space, and again an extensive understanding of collective theoretical visual discourse within artists, artworks, and mediums. This acts as evidence of Guo’s skill-set and ZÉRUÌ’s fluidity. My role in this tiger’s life was to help facilitate Guo’s vision, responding to the challenges of temporary spaces and their lack of malleability, to understanding the exhibition concepts from the inside. I can conclude from running alongside him in this chase the importance of proof of skill for young galleries. Something that can lead to future funding, to gain artist, collector and audience trust and maintain a current and also responsive programme going forward. This leads me to the circular nature of the hunt in the nomadic stage of this tiger’s life.

ZÉRUÌ, at the time of writing, will not be open again until September, when the programme resumes in the second temporary space. Working alongside Guo in his second stalking phase has given me insight into how this young gallery is finding ways to nourish itself enough to maintain the programme. This time around, Guo has been planning artists, a new space, and pushing the marketing, all of which have been the same as the initial stalk, though now Guo has a proof of concept. The key ingredient to creating a sustainable project and something which will allow him to apply for funding, reach a more prestigious range of individuals within the art world and something that can, most importantly, enable ZÉRUÌ to get a permanent territory of its own finally. ZÉRUÌ is an example of the importance of the stalk, and the chase in a gallery’s growth and path to gaining a permanent territory, the importance of thorough research and true contemporary visual discourse and how that can be used as vital evidence to maintain a sustainable and growing young gallery.