FROM a distance this could be any other newsagent or market stall in Newport selling everything from chocolate to children's toys.
But with Coalition and Credit Crunchie confectionary and DIY compost starter kits made from teabags, this Newport Market “stall” is anything but ordinary.
The Kiosk, the creation of Bradford-on-Avon artists Jeff Pigott and Julia Warin, has been delighting visitors to the market since it opened at the end of April.
On show are products created by the duo – most of which aren’t for sale – that try to raise a wry eyebrow over the current financial climate.
“We’ve got a whole range of products under the recession brand,” said Mr Pigott, who is also a graphic designer. “There’s a tape measure that’s called an austerity measure, and there’s a pair of pliers called a credit squeeze.
“We’re playing with the idea of how products are marketed to us and how things are made to look seductive so we want to buy them.”
The Kiosk has existed for several years and was first shown in a gallery in Dorset in 2008, Mr Pigott said.
“It comes out for a month every year, and every time we had new products to it and update it,” he said.
The new version of the Kiosk was commissioned by Cardiff-based and Arts Council of Wales-backed Open Empty Spaces group, which specialises in bring contemporary art work out of galleries and into public spaces.
Mr Pigott said the reaction from shoppers had been “very positive”: “Quite a lot of people stop to have a look when they realise things have been subverted a bit – they’ll spend a lot of time looking.”
After a month long run the Kiosk is due to have its final day in the market today.
Mr Pigott added: “The best thing for us is that we have reached an audience that we wouldn’t ordinarily have in an art gallery.”
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