(28 Aug 2021) LEAD IN:
London's Covent Garden market has unveiled a new art installation made of collages and bright neon lights.
Artist Chila Burman has created the work at the tourist hotspot to celebrate joy and positivity.
STORY-LINE:
A tiger greets visitors at Covent Garden market.
The neon light sculpture is part of an installation by British artist Chila Burman, which continues inside the central London venue.
The south hall has been turned into an immersive art gallery, featuring a big suspended octagon with each side showing a different collage and light sculpture.
Burman says she challenged herself by creating sculptures filling the market building.
"This is more 3D. It's great to have neon 3D. I like the heart, because it's very contemporary, very sort of chi-chi, it's got quite a modernist, it's got like a girly feel to it, got a vogue-ish feel to it. And I can never crack that in my own work in my studio, but I feel I have with this neon," says Burman.
As part of the artist's commitment to waste reduction, pieces from her previous collections have been included in the installation.
The boldness and size of the installation was what drew Capco, the owner of the market, to Burman's art.
"For us, we think art is really important in terms of how we think about place-shaping. We wanted something that felt quite immersive. We're very luck at Covent Garden because we're naturally an outside area, it's also a little bit covered, but it just means that people can walk through very easily and interact with the art, and that's really what's been driving the large-scale nature of this in the market building today," says Michelle McGrath, Executive Director of Capco Covent Garden.
Brightly coloured light sculptures of animals, characters and other objects decorate the walls.
The words Bizarre and Bazaar are used as a word play since Bazaar means "market" in Hindi, a reference to the history of the building.
Burman drew inspiration from her Hindu Punjabi heritage and her family history, while incorporating messages about women's empowerment, like "Valiant queens rule."
Burman wants her art to be fun but also convey emotion to visitors: joy and positivity.
Tigers are her favourite animal, but she also wants to raise awareness about their extinction.
"I think this is the coolest tiger in London right now, and I'm really proud of it. And I think he looks like he's growling at us but it also looks really friendly. And that's what I quite like about it," says Burman.
Danielle and Lizzie Gildea, who are visiting from Essex, are among the first people to enjoy the outdoor exhibition.
"I think, on a day like today, where it's a bit cloudy it brightens up the day seeing the neon signs and the pretty flowers and everything, it definitely makes the day a bit brighter," says Danielle Gildea.
The bright and colourful installation aims to draw more visitors inside the market and help businesses recover.
Capco was severely hit by the pandemic in 2020, collecting just half of rents in the second quarter, as most retailers, bars and restaurants were shut.
The art installation called "Neon Wonderland" will be in Covent Garden until October and light up from 7 a.m. until 12 p.m.
A 3D scan of the exhibition is also available online for those who can't get to the market in person.
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