House of Strawberries (Full Installation)

The strawberries in this site-specific installation work by Shanghai-based artist Juju Wang serve as a representation of a central motif for the way that we irrevocably have influenced our surrounding environment and impacted our planet. This is also an exploration into the effects of this on the core of our development, containing symbols of both motherhood and childhood in terms of the ‘self’, as well as the topics of cultural identification, belonging and the effects of globalization. These complex concepts are juxtaposed with the visual simplicity of the black and white minimalist palette and space.

Within the work also lies a personal and intimate message that is not immediately noticeable; Being the favorite fruit of the artist’s daughter, it references youth and infancy, the simple joys of life, the ease of picking from a multitude of options just by following your heart instead of getting lost in the multitude of variables and possible outcomes. At the same time, it is a statement of love from a caring mother looking after her child, in the most elementary and understandable manner, born out of intuition, rather than rationality.

The work also conveys an underlying message of a mother’s struggles to protect her child’s health and safety in relation to the state of fresh produce and its often ambiguous sources. The irregular shapes of the porcelain pieces recall an era where food wasn’t aesthetically-standardized and ‘perfect’, compared to present-day situations where harmful pesticides and genetically modified plants are the norms. The artist thus also questions the impact that our human species has over the planet and how future generations will never see, taste or feel the world as we know it today.

Diameter of 6 -10cm per strawberry. All sizes vary.
Sold as a full installation.