Children's drawings

“Yesterday I bought one at the ChiDraMarket, but it only lasted just under an hour. And afterwards I felt absolutely sick.”

“Yeah, of course – the ChiDraMarket sources them from Tasumali. Over there, the poor children are forced to paint, go hungry and get beaten.”

“Well, I’d rather pay a bit more here. After all, you get locally produced goods here!”

“Mind you, it could well be that these were produced by refugee children who’ve been through the horrors of war, living in temporary accommodation. We all know that with goods like that, the ‘happiness energy’ we demand is in very short supply.”

“Yes, and counterfeiters are up to their old tricks these days too! I’ve heard they recently caught a retired art teacher!”

“Do you really think proper Swiss kids produce better art? If they’re drawing whilst listening to super-loud heavy metal or watching brutal killer series on the telly, that energy of happiness isn’t exactly bubbling onto the page!”

“I once had some really good stuff. I could visually ‘inhale’ it for three hours every day for two weeks before the paper went patchy and fell apart. But that was from the Oberstadt Gallery. Certified and bloody expensive.”

“Well, I’ve heard that with the really high-grade stuff, the paper just fades after the expiry date rather than rotting away. But those must be very rare. And above all, you only know when the time comes.”

“Look, someone’s just bought one. His eyes still have that typical gleam you get from a first-time high. And he’s quickly hidden it away in his folder!”

“Yeah, obviously! It’s getting more dangerous by the day to walk around with fresh stuff.”