DAVID 'MEGGS' HOOKE
DAVID 'MEGGS' HOOKE
(See photos below)
Featured solo exhibition as part of the BEYOND EDEN art event presented by Thinkspace at the LA Municipal Art Center.
The title of this exhibition is inspired by the iconic lyric, “They paved paradise, to put up a parking lot,” sung by Joni Mitchell in her famous 1970’s song Big Yellow Taxi. The sentiment of this powerful lyric and the song itself mourns the loss of natural beauty at the hands of industrialization. Mitchell mocks the irony of over-developing a place with natural surrounds, which attracted people in the first place.
The artwork in this show plays on the same irony and notion of tragedy. Consumerism, materialism, and over-development of the urban landscape are rapidly devastating the same natural resources and beauty we conceive as ‘Paradise’ — a utopian place where its community can live in peace, resources are sustainable, and we can equally appreciate the natural and social environment we live in.
‘Paving Paradise’ juxtaposes images of industry and urban decay with the beauty and vibrance of nature, sending a message that we must preserve & appreciate the ‘paradises’ we seek. We need to live with less, be more community-minded, and practice sustainability before it is too late to do so again. “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got till its gone. They paved paradise, to put up a parking lot….”