adidas Global reached out to me to create something local to mark the global launch of their latest flagship store at the Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping center. Together, we created a permanent art installation for the adidas Original store. Our solution is a series of  four neon-lit shopfront signs, flanking the back of the shop. Each one is designed to resemble the type of business hoardings that you find in older areas of Dubai: neighborhoods that notorious for their counterfeit sneaker shops hawking major brands.​

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The artworks were inspired by a rumor I once heard in Vietnam. Some say large brands construct counterfeit and authentic clothing products in the same exact factories. According to the rumor, some companies allegedly sell "real" product of lesser quality in "fake" markets so that they can reach customers at all incomes. Put another way, brands would rather cannibalize their own sales with their own "fake" product than to have another manufacturer sell their own dupes. The gap between real and fake, then, becomes meaningless, while the global labor systems that underpin it become more enigmatic.

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