Out in the deserts of Lime, Oregon, an unexpected site of boulder-sized luxury handbags has taken over the arid landscape. The gigantic purses, which sport the designs of Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Prada, Gucci, Chanel and McQueen, are part of Thrashbird's latest project titled 'Valley of Secret Values." Known for his cheeky sense of humor with which he subverts mainstream culture, the LA-based street artist has transformed the concrete ruins of an abandoned power plant into new art.
The boulders have been spray painted to suggest the iconic patterns of various luxury designer handbags, and in some cases, with found materials to look like straps, handles, and other accessories—gold painted tires are made into chains and rocks, into beads. Stuck into the absurd, crumbling landscape, the works appear as a graveyard for the cult status symbols. Part cautionary tale, part beautification project, the bags, in Thrashbird's own words, "continue the important discourse surrounding society’s detrimental obsession with bombastic consumerism."
6 Comments
With the Supreme Court news today I'm having a hard time seeing this project as "cheeky fun".
Fuck everything.
What did your cuddly orange buffoon do today?
Looks less like natural "boulders" and more like chunks of building/concrete ruins, that are perhaps boulder-sized?
The last one (Chanel) is decorated with old tires painted gold.
It's the only one that rises to another level.
Oh the irony when those brands will shrink these into 'looking like concrete ruins' luxury handbags.
In the grand tradition of three hundred bucks for pre-ripped dungarees.
"There's a sucker born every minute" -PT Barnum (attributed)
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