Turn My Oyster Up was part of the Whitstable Biennale in 2014;
a slang bar, hosted by NANO NEON, serving gins and tonic and gypsy tarts
including 2 videos starring 'Bummy Pete' and 'Goatguy',
wallpapers, bar, Astroturf and neon lighting.

 
 
 
 
 
 
  


Turn My Oyster Up took its title from a polari phrase meaning “make me smile”, twisting Whitstable’s local oyster culture towards my interest in gay slang. I took on the role of Nano Neon, your host, accompanied by two video monitors who shouted at each other – a puppet named Bummy Pete and an animated head named Goatguy – their conversation slipping increasingly out of synch over time into a kind of Tourette’s trance. Gin, served with lemon, lime or cucumber (and ice, in a glass) was accompanied by local speciality gypsy tarts.The bar top was covered in various phrases, some slang, some not.

Photographs: Jonathan Bassett
Video documentation: Susannah Hewlett