"Einkaufsstück" (AI)

"Shopping Piece"

A Pompous Still Life, Around 2023
AI Light Projection on Concrete Wall, 2560 × 1280 pixels

Created by Lars Christian Schmidt, Enya Obert, and Mathis Raudasch, "Shopping Piece" is an interactive installation that transforms an everyday supermarket display into a speculative baroque still life. Using AI, the image shifts dynamically based on the viewer’s position - morphing between a familiar shopping scene and a digitally reimagined pompous still life. An abstract supermarket soundscape reinforces the immersive experience.

The work challenges perception: supermarket shelves, symbols of modern consumerism, echo the lavish still lifes of the past, once used to flaunt wealth. Yet behind their beauty lies a darker narrative of colonization, globalization, environmental destruction, and mass consumption.

The title refers to early still life terminology - like "Hunting Piece" or "Flower Piece" - before the genre gained artistic independence in the 17th century. Piece also suggests a musical composition, adding a poetic dimension.

Upon leaving, the experience lingers. Standing before a supermarket shelf again, one might no longer see just groceries but instead recall the baroque AI-generated still life, prompting a deeper reflection on reality and consumer culture.