BL: It takes place every Monday at the George and Dragon, the pub where Pablo, Sebastian and I work. We invite different artists/chefs to create their own versions of guacamole.

PLB: The development of this project happened at a time when we had no money to produce any other shows. It was a collaborative effort: the landlord supported us, the corner shop donated tortillas. As with the creation of guacamole, when you mix tomato and other ingredients together, the guacamole night mixes different people, places, and different disciplines. It raises interesting questions because, as with most food, guacamole looks as though it has an origin (Mexico) but actually because of the mix of ingredients and how they are incorporated, or not, its origin becomes problematic. Guacamole becomes a very interesting metaphor about how art is produced, questioning the idea of locality, originality and identity. So it looks like a simple night but it is not.

DC: We know of the mainstreamsí­ ability to co-opt the initiatives of peripheral, alternative or independent spaces, actions or projects. What is interesting in recent times is the way that commercial dealers, galleries, and established institutions are now taking an active role in employing alternative curatorial strategies and mounting shows of emerging, even fledgling artists. Given this trend what do you consider to be the role of alternative spaces? In what way can you say that 24/7 is alternative?

SR: I think we can consider ourselves alternative because we work in a very different manner from institutionalized spaces. We have no site; we have no obligations. We doní­t have to worry about the same kind of concerns that galleries and museums have. We doní­t have a budget so there is no dynamic of exchange between the artist and us. There is no relationship of power.

PLB: In the last 10 years arts institutions have been appropriating the techniques of alternative spaces and integrating them into their programs. I think that this presents a tremendous challenge for the artists who work with us. It becomes more exciting than working with a space that has a lot of resources. For example, we presented a one-day event by Carlos Amorales (a main-stream artist and one of the most successful Mexican artists abroad) who, given his art world status, is very used to big budgets. However, I think that working with us with no budget became an invigorating challenge to him.

DC: Because artists have to think more creatively when they have limited funds?

PLB: Yes. I think it brings them back to earth. To some extent our practice is about working with artists passing through London and really putting them to work.

BL: When you become established you can find yourself becoming separate and the work can become less vital.

PLB: I think because we have no fixed program we can be flexible. We can negotiate with the margins and with the center. Going back to the Latin American issue, I think this is related to being considered as the periphery and negotiating with the center. Not being exactly in the center but also not exactly on the outside. I think that gives us a flexibility of movement and the ability to establish dialogues that become very interesting.

DC: Can you talk about the importance of spontaneity, and mobility as a model of alternative practice in reference to 24/7?

BL: 24/7 is a continual experimentation, evolving all the time.

SR: We never wanted 24/7 to have a fixed structure. How the project has evolved has depended upon what we have been able to do. The informal structure has given us a lot of flexibility.

PLB: 24/7 is a developing project. We have no short term or medium term plan. We do it because we enjoy it. We think about artists who we would like to work with and we invite them. I think it gives us an amazing freedom to create. We are not be bound by a formalized or institutionalized structure.

SR: We have ideas all the time. We doní­t program. We could have another show in a month or three months from now we might not have done anything.

PLB: The shows we really plan never happen. Perhaps people think that most of our ideas are ridiculous but we pursue them just to see what will happen. In most cases they work and if we make a mistake we can always say it was art.

www.24-7bombthemuseum.org