Currently on display at the Smack Mellon space in Brooklyn, this installation piece titled Sugar Carpet (Tapis de sucre) by French-born, Montreal-based artist Aude Moreau has been made with over two tons of refined white sugar, which has been evenly spread out in a carpet-like fashion across the floor. It has been further festooned with floral motifs in activated charcoal and food coloring to bestow it with a Persian rug appearance. The perfect white expanse contrasts aesthetically with the industrial architecture of the installation site.
The highly fragile surface is vulnerable to visitors’ movements, requiring a consensus from the group in order to keep it intact. The sheer size, intricate detailing and the physical distance it imposes turns heads. The Sugar Carpet measures less than 3 millimeters in height and exposes the void that contains it. The installation also highlights another void at work in the raw material refining process.
The way the Sugar Carpet has been laid out using the concrete pillars and steel beams is simply mesmerizing. The exhibition runs through February 24, 2013.