Can you tell the difference between a painting and a fish?

December 2025, Victoria Motika

The BBC is launching a brand-new series: The Art Game (now known as ‘The Big Deal’). Premiering sometime in 2026, I happened to stumble upon the film set whilst visiting The Affordable Art Fair at Battersea Park.

Now, The Affordable Art Fair was something to behold in itself. I’m still recovering from witnessing such a high concentration of overly saturated, whistlefish-esque wall art, all crammed into one tiny white tent. It really should have come with a parental warning. But we’re not focusing on The Affordable Art Fair today… let’s talk about The Art Game.

At the entrance of the big white tent, they were giving out freebies of elderflower prosecco. I was several in by the time I wandered upstairs to have a nosey at the graduate artworks. I saw the cameras but didn’t think much of them, I was more interested in the work. And, rightly so, the cameras were more interested in the potential buyers rather than the very obvious, potentially drunk, student.

The first art dealer I got chatting to was Irish, I was utterly in love with his accent. But I left him chatting to my colleagues and started talking to another dealer. This is when I first realised something wasn’t quite right.

I made the mistake of asking about his personal taste, as a dealer what kind of art did he like? He responded with something along the lines of ‘I’m learning a lot about art at the moment’. With that answer I thought he definitely dodged the question, but I often feel the same way too, so fair enough. I think he then clocked I was a waste of time, so he passed me off onto a different dealer – a guy whose vibe was straight out of The Only Way Is Essex.

Immediately he was trying to sell me a painting as though it was a fish in a fish market. He was loud, aggressive and overly assuming, with a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude. Also, by this time, I hadn’t yet learnt from my previous mistake.

“What kind of art do you like?” I asked. (Seriously who tf asks a dealer about their personal interests?). But I kid you not, quote unquote, he responded:

“Oh, it’s only recently I’ve started to like art”.

Huh? You’ve only recently started to LIKE art? Like? Only recently? Aren’t you meant to be an art dealer, at a popular London art fair? And most crucially, you’re representing graduate and emerging artists in a situation they are most vulnerable. Forgive me for now I know why you mistook a painting for a fish. You’ve only recently started to like art. From that statement, along with the sales pitch, you’ve very clearly not had a lot of industry experience, certainly not enough to be selling at The Affordable Art Fair.

As you can imagine my eyebrows were literally touching my hairline. I was flabbergasted. It was there I left the conversation. A little confused, I cornered one of the crew’s runners and asked why there were people who didn’t know what they were doing, trying to sell artwork. He pointed me to this sign:

Now it would be unfair not to recognise the brighter side of the BBC’s intentions here. Dealing is fucking hard (especially in art fair situations), and this series has the potential to offer a really valuable insight into an art dealer’s processes. Also, for any artist, to have work exhibited to an audience of this scale has the potential to be career-catapulting. As my dad always used to tell me ‘Any opportunity is a great opportunity’, but is it so great for your work to be the subject of a joke? A commodity of ridicule? Mistaken for a fish?

Yes, I know I haven’t seen any of the final production yet, but from my encounter with fishmonger man, whose out-of-touch, high-pressure sales tactic was admittedly hilarious, one of my concerns with this show is with which type of entertainment its steered towards. (Side note: interesting how we’re using profit-driven narratives as entertainment).

From what I could tell, fishmonger man didn’t even want to be there. Clearly, he wasn’t chosen for the show for his interest in art, but for his tv-personality - the classic comic relief character that makes a fool out of themselves for the sake of entertainment. And it’s a real shame the joke didn’t just stay with him.

Naturally, his unserious efforts reflected poorly on the works he was representing. If the art dealer is incompetent, what does that say about the artist for trusting them? It’s devaluing. I know this is an unfair perception to have but, in the moment, before I was aware of the whole art game context, it was my honest reaction. It happens all the time, just think of any poorly curated show you’ve visited which negatively impacted your relation to an artwork. It’s the same situation, different conditions. And, to think, if this ludicrous attitude affected me this strongly, I’m sure any serious buyer would have been put off as well.

As a recent graduate, I found this disrespectful. All any emerging artist wants is to be taken seriously. It’s destabilising enough having your passion constantly patronised by the capitalist obsession with ‘proper jobs’ and profit. And then, in a place where you’d expect to feel understood and respected, your work becomes a prop in a tv show - a backdrop for a dealer cracking jokes for some dull, quick-dopamine entertainment.

And also, why emerging artists and not those more professionally developed? The term ‘established’ is used on their sign, but I wouldn’t class the range of ‘graduate talent to community creatives’ as ‘established contemporary artists’. Perhaps it’s strategic? Emerging artists lack experience with selling and representation; therefore, they won’t know or kick up a fuss if we present them poorly.

Now I’ve probably read this whole situation way too seriously. After all, the Affordable Art Fair is generally for those wanting to buy something to match their sofa. But if you take anything away, think about the responsibility you have as an artist in the way you choose to represent yourself. Is it a genuine opportunity or is it just exploitation hidden behind exposure? It very well might be both. Also, if you’re ever buying an artwork, don’t ask the dealer about their personal interests, that’s their job. And if you’re a wannabe dealer, remember a painting is not a fish xoxoxo