This Street Art Is Made from Candy — Yes, Candy
In celebration of Chinese New Year, Chengdu in southern China is the new home to a candy carpet. The 14,000-square-foot display of street art is comprised of 13 tons of candy, formed into shapes of flowers for good luck and panda bears. It took more than 2,000 volunteers five days to bring the graphic design dreamed up by artists Craig + Karl to life. Entitled “Sweet as One,” the ginormous work is more than just a sweet display.
The impressive display is best seen from the sky, since it lies at 607 feet long and 23 feet wide, so it should come as no surprise that the project carries a large message. Commissioned by the Hong Kong creative studio AllRightsReserved, with the goal of bringing awareness to the sheer number of impoverished children in the country’s rural areas, the organizers of the project are donating 15,000 meals (and the candy from the display) to underprivileged children in the area.
But there are so many questions. Firstly, aren’t the candies dirty? Don’t fret, they’re individually wrapped. And second, who dreamed up this colorful carpet of candy? Craig + Karl are a global graphic art duo who have shown works at the Louvre and done design for Vogue, Google and more.
Craig Redman, who is based in New York, and Karl Maier, who makes his home in London, are known for their love of candy-colored creations, both literal and figurative, and for conveying simple messages in big ways. Something tells us they definitely got their message across this time.
It’s hard to tell what’s more impressive about this installation. Is it the size? The message? The colors? Or is it that Craig and Karl managed to create this while living a whole ocean away from each other? Regardless, it looks pretty tasty to us.
How will you be celebrating Chinese New Year? Let us know in the comments.
(h/t FastCo Design)