‘You can’t draw here, you need permission from headquarters’.
Supermarket Sweep is a collection of ceramic pieces inspired by observations and stories from across Manchester’s supermarkets and food stalls during lockdown. The series reflects on human behaviour and the chaos of shortages and panic buying.
Standing in the corner of Lidl, with an A2 sketchpad and a mountain of pens falling at my feet, I caught the attention of the store manager.
‘You can’t draw here, you need permission from headquarters’.
A bit flustered, I responded,
‘Don’t worry, my work is quite abstract, and I won’t make any reference to Lidl’.
Four hours later, nearing the end of the drawing, he returned.
‘Oh, it looks nothing like Lidl, carry on’.
Supermarket Sweep initially started out exploring the issues of sustainability and waste within the big four UK supermarkets, it evolved into an observation of different communities in Manchester. From Nick the fruit and veg stall holder, who provided students and hospital patients with their 5 a day, to the Middle Eastern supermarket where, a week before the first lockdown, milk powder was rationed rather than the loo roll.
Each ceramic piece should state which drawing it comes from on the bottom of the piece.