experiment in happiness

Experiment in Happiness is a site-responsive piece. The object is a two meter sphere covered in about 400 pairs of yellow shoes. The shoes are painted with yellow road paint, the same that is used to paint double yellow lines. The artist is attached to the ball by wearing one of the pairs of shoes, making the artist's body part of the object. The absurd relationship between the body and the giant ball of shoes makes the piece sit on the verge between the comical and the menacing, keeping the viewer wondering what is about to happen.

This piece was created and exhibited as part of an artist's residency at the Camden Arts Centre, and was funded by the Adam Reynolds Memorial Bursary.

2008; polystyrene, shoes, yellow road paint, artist's body; 2m diameter,
150 cm artist's body;

photography by Hannah Facey, Sabine Gruhn and Joy Stanley

click thumbnails to enlarge images