I was invited to take part in The Store project, an assignment that the full-time students will be assessed on (I'm assuming that as a part-timer I will do and be marked on this or a similar project next year). The project is based on Claes Oldenburg's The Store, 1961, where he created an immersive installation of an American shop, filled with gaudily coloured objects that seem to represent everyday products. The students were to respond by creating their own version of a store, which would become LMU's Christmas show, 'The Christmas Cracker'.
I developed point-of-sale items and used the 'It's over (doodle 4)' screenprint and linocuts as the covers of two product catalogues, based on those of Argos. The contents are images taken from my Daily Quirk series, where I pose with everyday objects to give them another identity. I also made order forms with a mini pen, which Argos used to provide its customers when it first opened.
In context, I wanted to evoke Oldenburg's sense of fun, while offering consumers an element of interactivity other than simply buying a product. For the covers, I used an image of balloons with a sharp object to reflect the theory that consumerism's bubble is about to burst.
