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Serge Ecker
Caddy Type Mk. IX “cactus” – en route pour la belle étoile, 2025 Shopping cart and steel tubes, thermo-lacquering, varnish, 300 x 250 x 20 cm
Location
Pont Adolphe (at the intersection of bd Franklin Roosevelt and pl. de Bruxelles)
Art Walk Challenge
The sculpture Caddy Type Mk. IX "cactus" - “en route pour la belle étoile” transforms a life-sized shopping cart into an “Airfix” model kit, deconstructed and meticulously displayed as though it were ready to be assembled. This playful yet thought-provoking presentation draws on the aesthetics of DIY (do it yourself) culture while elevating an object typically associated with banality and consumerism. The title references Luxembourg’s first shopping mall, “La Belle Étoile,” and carries a dual meaning: a physical journey and pilgrimage to a shopping center and a metaphysical voyage “to the beautiful star”, maybe even a bright future filled with convenience and technology…
At its core, the piece reflects on the pseudo-religious nature of consumer culture. Shopping, in many ways, has become a modern ritual—a collective act of devotion that offers comfort and meaning in an age of uncertainty. The repetitive trips to malls and stores serve as a shared pursuit of fulfillment, even as the world faces crises that demand deeper introspection and systemic change.
The Airfix model aesthetic further adds a layer of irony. It draws on the recent glorification of do-it-yourself culture, a trend amplified by social media, where assembling and personalizing objects has been celebrated as both nostalgic escape and empowerment. Here, however, the shopping cart—a symbol of mass production, convenience, and uniformity—becomes the subject. By isolating and presenting it in this format, the sculpture challenges viewers to reconcile the contradiction: a utilitarian object stripped of its function but imbued with cultural weight.
In this age of environmental and societal challenges, the piece also examines the cognitive dissonance inherent in modern consumerism. Amid growing uncertainty, the compulsive focus on consumption and convenience can be seen as a way of avoiding adaptation to new realities. The shopping cart, a ubiquitous object of everyday life, becomes a symbol of this tension — a monument to the absurdities of a culture that seeks comfort in consumption while ignoring the pressing need for change.
Exhibited in the public space of Lorentzweiler as part of Störende Wahrheiten (Disturbing Truths) from June 14th until September 28th, the sculpture invites reflection and dialogue. By decontextualizing an ordinary object and presenting it as art, it asks viewers to rethink the rituals and habits of their daily lives. It provokes questions about the glorification of consumerism, the allure of nostalgic escapism, and the contradictions of a world that clings to convenience in the face of crisis.
Ultimately, Caddy Type Mk. IX "cactus" - “en route pour la belle étoile” is both a critique and a celebration—a critique of the dissonance and absurdity of modern life, and a celebration of the power of art to question the familiar in entirely new ways.
Serge Ecker (b. 1982, Esch-sur-Alzette) is a Luxembourgish artist working across sculpture, installation, digital art, and photography. Trained in graphic design and 3D animation in Luxembourg and Nice, his practice explores memory, urban transformation, and the role of technology in shaping contemporary culture. Ecker reimagines everyday objects to question societal rituals, often blending physical and virtual elements. His work has been shown internationally, including at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and reflects a deep engagement with public space and collective experience.
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