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Fatboy Slim didn’t forget his fruits and vegetables during Miami Art Week

Pabio December 7, 2024

On Wednesday afternoon, artist Lucy Sparrow awaited the arrival of her shop boy at SCOPE. He was a few minutes late, but even Miami’s heavy traffic couldn’t stop Fatboy Slim from clocking in for his last Miami Arts Week gig: fruit and vegetable seller.

The DJ quickly donned an apron and enthusiastically stepped into his alter ego as “Fruitboy Slim” for Sparrow’s immersive installation “Blessed Be the Fruit” at a felted fruit and vegetable stand.

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“I’m more of a smiling person,” said the British DJ as he glanced around the colorful stall filled with smiling fruits and vegetables, with hushed-themed still lifes lining the walls. This was the second time he’s lent a hand to Sparrow, having helped with its Fritz Bagel installation at last year’s SCOPE show. “When I worked here last year, it was great because we watched people. As a DJ, I’m always listening to people’s reactions. And everyone, when they see (Sparrow’s work), it makes them melt and they smile.

A view of Lucy Sparrow's stand at SCOPE. — A view of Lucy Sparrow’s stand at SCOPE.

The DJ connected with Sparrow through a mutual connection, drawn to the artist’s energy and colorful approach to art.

“She makes you smile, she makes you laugh. It’s affordable,” the DJ said of her work. “It reminds me of my beginnings in art,” he added. “It’s thanks to Keith Haring, who I discovered through music, because he made record covers. He created the Pop Shop, which sold art but offered something fun and affordable. It really reminds me of that kind of aesthetic. You can own a really cute piece of art for very little money and feel like you’re a part of it.

The DJ kicked things off Miami Art Week with the opening night of Wynwood Walls on Monday and a signing event for its Pepita coffee brand, which launched a collaboration with several artists who designed collectible pewter artworks. “The slogan is ‘Coffee elevated to the status of an art form.’ » He had also performed at Faena Art’s opening party the night before and was scheduled to end his trip to Miami with a full-day DJ set at Hyde Beach. Friday.

“I don’t come here primarily hoping to buy. I was given a few things. But there’s always that thing when you see something and you fall in love with it,” he said when asked if he had the opportunity to indulge in art between concerts. “It’s not like when people go to Vegas, where they’re like, well, I’m willing to spend five thousand dollars here.”

Of course, at Art Basel, the most buzzed-about works often sell for well over $5,000. Sparrow had “taped” one of his smiling felted bananas to the wall of his installation, an homage to the infamous Art Basel 2019 work “Comedian” by Maurizio Cattelan which recently sold at auction for 6.2 million dollars. The non-perishable version of Sparrow, titled “Inside Joke”, was available for $250 in an edition of 100 and was a popular photo op for show guests.

“It kind of came back into the social consciousness, and I thought it was absolutely too good to pass up this chance to do,” said Sparrow, who has a personal affinity for bananas that dates back to a childhood stuffed animal. “I love all the memes that are going around, and I love when art creates such a conversation and bleeds into mainstream social life. I’m an artist, I have lots of artistic things coming up on my feed all the time, but this is something that really stuck out to me.

Sparrow aims to channel this element of joyful surprise into his work, whether through Fatboy Slim serving unexpected visitors, or through an entirely hushed installation at Maison Diptyque Londoncurrently on display for the end-of-year holidays.

“A level of positivity radiates from this corner of the fair. It was incredible,” she said.