my urban living room in copenhagen by smart and BoConcept

my urban living room: helle mardahl for smart and BoConcept
photo © alastair philip wiper

smart and BoConcept collaborate on a project that invites four artists (or teams of creatives) to envision a lively living space in the public realm. first making its debut in munich (see designboom’s coverage here), it has now travelled to denmark’s capital in its four part european city program. ‘my urban living room’ in copenhagen has been realized by danish designer helle mardahl, who has created an installation in front of the city’s court house. at the heart of the multi-facted work is the smart fortwo edition BoConcept vehicle, which stands as a collector trolly containing an immense amount of items, such as a skeleton piece from mardahl’s ‘ego queen’, pouring out of its windows. the compact car seems to be teeming with items, and you can open and shut its doors once you feel ready to be immersed in the safe chaos of the ‘indoors’. elements of the danish artist’s soft sculptural works such as strings of large ‘plush’ beads, and a large cloud of colorful balloons surround the car, extending the installation outwards into the larger expanse of the public space, offering more elements for which the citizens of copenhagen can engage with in the open living room.

helle mardahl’s open living room concept in front of copenhagen’s courthouse
photo © alastair philip wiper

mardahl was given the car, a sofa, a table and a chair, the latter of which she has adapted with obscurely shaped plush elements resulting in something that looks more alien than functional, but is actually a useful piece of art in which the graphic imagery has been painted and drawn onto its surface by the artist herself.

‘my urban living room’ in copenhagen is not only a three-dimensional, interactive experience, but is accompanied by a series of images, which document the colorful, visual cacophony of its parts. mardahl’s partner, photographer alastair philip wiper has captured the installation with a sense of ‘lonely romance’. read a full interview with helle mardahl on her concept behind her urban living room here.

stay tuned for coverage of ‘my urban living room’ project’s final two stops in paris and barcelona!

the sculptural work sees colorful balloons explode out of the smart fortwo edition BoConcept car
photo © alastair philip wiper