André Saraiva, Andrépolis

JournalArt & Culture

André Saraiva, Andrépolis

Block rocking feats...

It took me a while to twig what these creations by André Saraiva – aka Monsieur A – reminded me of. Anyone remember Enid Blyton’s Noddy books before he went all CGI animation on telly? These buildings, with their tapering stacked blocks, arches and geometric windows could be straight out of the little wooden boy’s world, if it weren’t for the striking neon adornments. Not so much Noddy Goes to Toyland, but maybe more Noddy Goes to 1930s New York.

In fact the city is Andrépolis, an installation of 15 “buildings” at The Hole in New York, based on the artist’s impressions of the Big Apple’s nightspots and eateries. The work has been designed to complement an exhibition of portrait photographs of 100 important New York artists in the venue’s other two galleries. Beautifully lit at night, the hand-painted models have the wonderfully evocative art deco style that made the Empire State Building such an impressive icon.

And no, we have no idea what the giant purple sit-on-and-ride cock has got to do with anything, but we won’t dwell…

André Saraiva, Andrépolis André Saraiva, Andrépolis André Saraiva, Andrépolis André Saraiva, Andrépolis André Saraiva, Andrépolis André Saraiva, Andrépolis André Saraiva, Andrépolis André Saraiva, Andrépolis

Photography, Adam Reich