The Standard hotel in Downtown LA is currently hosting a big-scale West Coast debut of British artist Lucy Sparrow. As her fifth fully-felted art installation, Sparrow Mart opened doors on August 1st and will stay open for business until the end of the month.
We say “open for business” because of the fact that this art installation is a fully functional supermarket, offering a wide range of everyday supplies entirely made from felt and fabric. From bubblegum, fruit and veggies, to different packaging of favorite snacks, drinks or liquor, kitchen supplies or hygiene products, the exhibition is hoping to make visitors happy by introducing the cuddly versions of their favorite product. And it might well do so because the aisles are holding no less than 31,000 unique items, each individually hand sewn and drawn by the artist herself – not criticizing consumerism, but instead celebrating how much joy everyday objects and brands that we know and love can bring us. With every single piece being available for purchase, Lucy Sparrow is hoping to meet the demand that was seen during her last installation, 8 ‘Till Late (covered) in NYC last year, that sold out 9,000 items.
Sparrow Mart even includes a 1980s inspired movie section filled with biggest box office hits on VHS and Betamax, all inspired by the “exotic, turbo-charged technicolor glow” from across Atlantic that Sparrow grew up with. “The source of this neon rainbow was Los Angeles – a seemingly mythical place to a child growing up in grey, post-recession Britain – and one that has hugely influenced my artistic practice,” says the artist about this immersive installation that set the bar high for her future projects.
Photo credit: Michael Anthony Hernandez.
