Selfridges' art installations question luxury
Art sculpture by Hugo McCloud in Selfridges, London
What have a series of crumpled sacks got to do with luxury retail? It is all part of an art installation series hosted by the famous London store, Selfridges.
At our recent 'Art, Investment and Cities' Forum Charles Saumarez Smith, Chief Executive of the RA talked about the importance of luxury brands around Bond Street and the weekend opening of art galleries to continue to build the Mayfair cultural quarter. There was also debate over the need for retail art installations as well as creative events in shops, where people can meet and discuss ideas, also providing 'brag-able' experiences captured by the millennial generation on their mobile phones and Twitter accounts.
The sculpture above is by Hugo McCloud, born in 1980 in Palo Alto, California and now working in Brooklyn, New York. The polythene sacks collected from waste pickers in the Philippines, play on the subjects of waste and value. The famous London store is examining the meaning of 'luxury' with its campaign this Spring as it believes the term has been overused. 'Radical luxury' is a result of conversations the store has been having with designers, artists and film-makers and asking how luxury brands with a long history, can now step into the digital age.
The Old Selfridges hotel will host an installation titled 'The Flipside' featuring multi-sensory events where customers will experience 'altered states of luxury' and a behind the scenes look at the influences that have built these brands.
As part of Selfridges Radical Luxury campaign, artist, creative director, producer and mentor, Michele Lamy has taken up residence with her favourite boxing collaborators, artists and fashion designers - see one of the stores shop windows below, complete with decorated punch bags.
