Fully-Furnished Rooms Installed in the Cramped Underground Manholes of Milan

If you're traipsing around the streets of Milan, you might come across Biancoshock‘s recent series of installations called Borderlife. The artist has created three cramped, compelling underground spaces–also known as manholes–that are adorned in the same way that someone would decorate their home. Small squares and rectangles dug into the ground are wallpapered, tiled, and affixed with pictures, hats, and towels on the walls of these claustrophobic quarters.

The striking artworks are social commentary on people who are forced to live in extreme conditions–including some that inhabit manholes. “An example of inspiration is Bucharest,” Biancoshock explains, “where more than 600 people live underground, in the sewers.” This harrowing series is intended to bring light to this issue, because knowing it exists is the first step in fixing it. “If some problems cannot be avoided,” Biancoshock says, “make them comfortable.”

Biancoshock: Website | Facebook | Instagram
via [This Isn't Happiness, StreetArtNews]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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