chris labrooy's giant racer wants a piece of porsche 911 carrera 4S in miami

Chris labrooy & porsche at design miami

Scottish artist Chris Labrooy woke up and chose one of people’s favorite nightmares as his sculpture for Design Miami (more here) at Perez Art Museum: a giant Porsche-grabbing person. It’s not just an ordinary being, but a car racer with his helmet on.

As if the driver’s height isn’t already a limelight-stealer, Labrooy takes a step further and painted his public art in sunshine yellow, a homage to the sun-never-sets setting of Miami. When Labrooy finished making the sculpture, the artful storyline begins.

An avid Porsche driver himself, the car manufacturer’s vehicles have appeared in Labrooy’s multimedia portfolio, including the mountain of 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS stacked together and wrapped in a fishing net here. It’s not a surprise then that for Porsche’s The Art of Dreams, the company’s series of interactive art installations in major cities, he turns to Porsche again.

images courtesy of Porsche

The giant car racer burrows himself in the sand, waiting for the arrival of the white Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. The vehicle speeds through the sandy path, almost effortlessly, and parks by the beach. It is solemnly resting, enjoying its free time before going for another ride. Like the calm before the storm, Labrooy’s sculpture strikes like a viper. It rises to the surface after breathing through the dunes, raises its arm, and grabs the white Porsche 911 Carrera 4S in idle by its roof.

‘Dream Big,’ Chris Labrooy, 2022

How to ‘dream big’

Porsche’s centerpiece for Design Miami is Chris Labrooy’s colossal yellow sculpture and its white Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, forming an ensemble for ‘Dream Big.’ Porsche commissioned Labrooy to manifest an artistic representation of one’s. Where did we hope our journey would take us? Are we following our dreams? Where will our dreams take us next? These were a few questions that Porsche threw for Labrooy to creatively respond.

The multimedia artist offers his answers by perusing a playful tone in his installation. The wonder, the gasp, and the wide eyes of the viewers follow through as the sculpture becomes unveiled at the event. It circles back to people’s fun and fever dreams where larger-than-life beings in their fantasies play with them instead of terrorizing their existence.

porsche commissioned chris labrooy for design miami (more here)

As Porsche likes to put it, the artistic initiative illuminates the topic of dreams through temporary works of art, and Labrooy’s sculpture taps into the childlike energy of people and challenges them to dream big. Porsche writes in its news that the artwork is a reference to its project in the virtual world that will be unveiled in the near future. In the meantime, attendees of Design Miami can enjoy the sculpture at Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) from November 29th to December 3rd, 2022.

close-up view