craig & karl stretch candy carpet along chengdu street in china

craig & karl stretch candy carpet along chengdu street in china
all images courtesy of craig & karl

13 tons of brightly-colored candy pieces and nearly 14,000-square-feet encompasses craig & karl‘s installation for the ‘sweet as one’ exhibition in chengdu, china. the patterned artwork, made with individual pieces of sweets, displays a variety of symbology and iconography — from blooming flowers, which symbolize good luck to stylized pandas. the candy expanse stretches 607 feet long by 23 feet wide — small squares are filled with single-colored confections, established in a grid formation that has been used the create and execute the artwork overall. more than 2,000 volunteers meticulously assembled the entire piece by hand in just over five days.

13 tons of brightly-colored candy pieces line the city block

curated by hong kong creative studio allrightsreserved, the public installation aims to bring awareness to the plight of underprivileged children in rural areas, and to celebrate the chinese new year in a festive and celebratory way. organizers plan to donate meals and the candy from the installation to the under privileged.

head on over to designboom’s interview with karl maier of craig & karl to learn more about the studio’s humorous and highly characteristic body of work.

the patterned artwork, made with individual pieces of sweets, displays a variety of symbology and iconography

blooming flowers symbolizing good luck and stylized pandas are depicted in the candy landscape

small squares are filled with single-colored confections

more than 2,000 volunteers meticulously assembled the entire piece by hand

a grid formation has been used the create and execute the artwork overall.

volunteers work towards building the massive candy carpet

a detail reveals the individually-packed squares of candy that comprise the overall piece

the candy carpet stretches towards the horizon line

aerial view of chengdu street