Art Basel is officially underway, and while many events carry big price tags, a standout installation at Locust Projects offers a completely free experience.
Miami artist Tara Long invites visitors into a world that at first seems playful and delicious, but reveals something more unsettling beneath its sugary surface.
Inside the art space, Long’s “storefront”—a collaboration with Haitian artist Serge Toussaint—draws passersby with bright colors and cheerful nostalgia.
As you enter, you are confronted with a deeper message: what appears as joyful gives way to a commentary on decay.
“You come in and there’s a façade of sweetness… but then behind the curtain there’s some sort of horror, the big, crumbling cake, the big, crumbling condo,” Long told NBC6.
Long says the work reflects the pulse of Miami itself.
“I feel like Miami is a place where a lot of people come. There’s an allure, there’s a sweetness that they’re desiring,” sje saod/
The installation captures both that attraction and the underlying tensions.
The project is made possible by Locust Projects, an institution known for supporting experimental art that might not fit inside a traditional gallery or museum.
“We’re an incubator, a laboratory where artists get to experiment and take risks on a big scale,” executive director Lorie Mertes said.
For those curious, Locust Projects will host a meet-the-artist reception for “Delight in Mire” this Saturday, Dec. 6, from 7 to 10 p.m. The event is free and open to the public—a rare, accessible slice of Art Basel for everyone.