17-08-2016

The New York Convenience Store, Lucy Sparrow

London, USA, New York, USA,

Store,

The New York Convenience Store is the name of the art installation that UK-based artist Lucy Sparrow is organising in the Big Apple.



  1. Blog
  2. Design
  3. The New York Convenience Store, Lucy Sparrow

The New York Convenience Store, Lucy Sparrow The New York Convenience Store is the name of the art installation that UK-based artist Lucy Sparrow is organising in the Big Apple. A felt tribute to the “convenience store”, a colourful place used in our daily routine.



While a city skyline defines its initial visual impact, the much less evident and iconic territorial signs actually define its true nature and charm since they are part of the everyday life of any given place. One of these signs is the little shop on the corner, known to Brits as the Corner Shop and to Americans as the larger Convenience Store, where you can find a snack or a drink at any time of the day.





English artist Lucy Sparrow has been exploring this area since 2014, when she set up her installation called The Cornershop in an abandoned corner shop in London, stocking the shelves with hand-sewn felt grocery items. Thus turning the colourful packs of sweets and drinks into something soft and purely decorative, generating a huge response with the general public (the queues snaked right around the corner) in her desire to showcase the plight of these shops, because let's face it, what neighbourhood would be complete without one and how would the locals cope? How many times have we made a last-minute dash to the corner shop for some biscuits to serve unexpected guests, or a pop-tart for breakfast? The retail giants just don't cut it like the local convenience store. After the unprecedented success of The Cornershop in London as well as other experiences - all using the technique of hand-sewing items from life in felt - Lucy Sparrow now intends to take the concept to New York City.





Her project “The New York Convenience Store – An Art Installation” is scheduled to open in Summer 2017. Lucy Sparrow will stock an unused store with her hand-sewn felt groceries, packets of biscuits, jars of peanut butter and jelly, all displayed on the shelves as a faithful reflection of the contents of a real Convenience Store. 



She even wants to make it interactive, where you can make your own sandwiches - a unique opportunity to relive the excitement of something routine, often associated with childhood memories in the artistic interpretation of Lucy Sparrow. A creative act that combines memories, playful aspects and handcrafting in an installation of felt artworks, where alongside everything else, you'll also find that staple in life and art - a tin of Campbell's Tomato Soup! 



If you'd like to help make this really exciting project that already has the media in a frenzy, you can contribute through the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: Lucy Sparrow, https://sewyoursoul.co.uk/
Location: New York, USA
Year: 2016
Images: courtesy of Lucy Sparrow  
Campaign on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sewyoursoul/the-new-york-convenience-store-an-art-installation

×
×

Stay in touch with the protagonists of architecture, Subscribe to the Floornature Newsletter