Brockley Babel

Tyler Durden: You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis.
- Fight Club (1999 - when this sort of thing still sounded profound)

Brockley businesses Maxin Chicken and William Dunphy Funeral Director are among 3,000 London high street businesses immortalised in Stoke pottery by artist Barnaby Barford.

The Tower is a thing of beauty, with a regrettably tedious Fight Clubesque message ("we've ceased to be citizens and are now just consumers") that overlooks the last couple of decades of extremism, recession, digital disruption and civic activism. The V&A says:

The Tower of Babel is Barnaby Barford’s representation of London today. Standing six metres high, it is made up of 3000 individual bone china buildings, each depicting a real London shop photographed by the artist.

At the base are derelict shops and pound stores, while at the pinnacle are London’s exclusive boutiques and galleries. Blurring the boundaries of art and commerce, each shop is for sale during the period of its exhibition at the Museum.

With prices rising as the Tower ascends, it confronts us with the choices we make as consumers, through necessity or desire.

Made in Stoke-on-Trent by 1882 Ltd, each fine bone china shop is individually signed by the artist. The shops are exclusively for sale through the V&A, priced between £95 and £6000.

Click here to learn more about the exhibition. Thanks to Marc for the links.