The idea of Dime Store Red began about four years ago. 2019 was the year we decided to bring that idea into tangible existence. 2019 was the year we began saying yes to finishing good ideas. The major catalyst for this project was finding the right warehouse. The expansive and empty 22,000sqft space was perfect. Dime Store Red begins. We intentionally placed the installation itself in the back of the warehouse, so the viewer would enter the space, and have to walk a considerable distance to enter the installation itself. Our intention was to take away instant gratification - remove expectations, and provide a shock to the viewer during many moments of the show. We wanted to build something that represented who we are, what we strive to create, and why we create what we do. We wanted to shake the city, bring the people together, and inspire the city as a whole through a moonshot project like Dime Store Red.
The Entrance /
1313 Rogers Street. A massive warehouse at the end of a concrete parking lot, wedged in a block of West Savannah. A little ambiguous of where the entrance may be, but the intention remains none the less. When you walk up, you only see a garage door cracked about 5 feet, a blue tarp, and a white newsstand. We didn’t want to give too much away about Dime Store Red before you were to come and experience it all for yourself. But even as you walk up, you’re still in the mystery of it all. We didn’t want a shiny and assuming entrance, that feeling of “awe” we saved for the first steps into the installation itself. From this point we just want you thinking — “Where am I?”, “What am I going to?”, “What is Dime Store Red?”.
Shot by Beau Kester
First Room /
This first room celebrated the beginnings of our collaboration as two artists. Our story begins with a show at Two Tides Brewery back in May of 2019. The work was an exploration of combining JULU paintings with WILLKES car photography. The first room of Dime Store Red was a tangible and immersive representation of that work. A foot into the first room and you’re already engulfed in a mass array of colors, lines, shapes, and dots — as if you’re standing in a painting itself. The bright pattern that covers the entirety of the first room contrasts heavily against the all white facade of the building. The painted BMW halfway submerged into the room, that is then painted, represents the spirit in Dime Store Red. This iconic room represents a strong beginning.
Shot by Beau Kester
Second Room /
Once you walk out of the first room and into the second, you’ll finally have a glimpse into who we as artists through our artist statement wall. The artist statement wall talks about us as the founders, and our intention behind the show. Then after passing through the yellow PVC you’ll be standing in a bright room accompanied by a soundtrack designed intentionally for this room. This room revolves around the idea of “Do Not Bend”. Life has it’s list of how things are typically done, and we accept those ways. This room represents thinking outside of the box, challenging what’s accepted, and creating what is unexpected. To sum up, bend what is not meant to be bent. People generally assume there is one pathway from A to B. We want to push the idea that the path from A to B isn’t always linear. The room is inspired heavily by Stanley Kubrick and his film 2001: A Space Odyssey. We were inspired by the ways Kubrick thought outside the box and redefined cinema. This room embodies the spirit of creating outside the box. It represents “how” we create, and “how” we think.
Shot by Beau Kester
Third Room /
The third room is centered around the idea “Don’t be a Sheep”. A playful way of suggesting to stray away from conforming to the same paths that others are taking. The phrase remains central to the why behind the entire concept of Dime Store Red. Once the viewer walks into this room, they’ll be put into a position to make a choice for themselves. The viewer will see a shiny blue pathway, surrounded by a red carpet, four security cameras, a “Keep Off Grass” sign, a secret hutch door, and a blue sheep. Our hope is that your curiosity will drive you to explore this room for yourself, and stray off of the blue pathway. We want to bring attention to the idea that it is easy to fall into the place of being a sheep on the same pathway everybody else is on. People will ask us, why build something so massive, and invest so much time, thought, and intention into something such as Dime Store Red? Because even when its easier to keep off the grass, we believe in doing what we were wired to do. We want to charge that in others through subtle concepts such as those in the third room.
