Weird Windows: Artists transform Durham storefronts into holiday displays

Weird Windows

Window Shopping in an Alternate Reality
By Jeghetto
407 E Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC

Enter the creative mind of Jeghetto as he creates an alternative view point of the Holiday Season. Enter an alternate reality from a sci fi perspective where robots and humans coexist during the holiday shopping season.

The Holiday Party
By Jordan Grace Owens
309 E Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC

From the artist: I’m a big fan of Marisol’s wonderfully weird sculptures, and my project is an homage to her totem-like figures. I plan to create a group of life-size figures by painting on stacks of cardboard boxes. Playing off of the voyeuristic nature of looking into a window, I want the installation to feel like you’re peeking in the window at a strange office holiday party.

A Reclaimed Christmas
By Ali Waller
121 Market Street, Durham, NC

This installation features a 3D children’s book page framed by fantastical cutouts of Christmas characters. The ornate theatre-like window layers a painted curtain, stars, lights, mice, cherubs, and fairies, referencing the Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol. At the center sits a hyperrealistic Christmas village with a cast and a single present, honoring those who spend holidays alone by choice, embracing self-love and reclaiming old traditions.

Carnival of Dogs
By Christian Smith
307 W Main Street, Durham, NC

From the artist: My window is inspired by vintage toy and pet store displays. When I heard the prompt all I could think of was the Department store in “A Christmas Story” and how it was such a hodge hodge of toys/holiday/pop culture, and I wanted to lean into something a bit more whimsical! It will consist of 7 dog cutouts, some on unicycles, some flying through the air!

A Holiday Under the Sea
By Bob Ostrom
107 E Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC

From the artist: My project is an undersea holiday-themed display. It is a collection of large acrylic gouache paintings on wood panels, grouped together to form a scene. My subject matter is a humorous depiction of what an undersea holiday featuring mermaids and their fellow underwater friends might look like.

Be Audacious
By Sabrina Servance
100 Market Street, Durham, NC

The Be Audacious installation will be a bold take on what the holidays look like. Usually everything is so traditional and people forget that there is joy in color. With everything going on in this world, it’s time to let loose and be audacious! (The words Be Audacious will be shown in different languages.)

Santa’s Werkshop
By Jason Lord
204 E Rigsbee Avenue, Durham, NC

From the artist: For the past year, I’ve been working with painted scrap wood and found objects, making temporary installations. I’m imagining building toy-like structures that evoke a sense of wonder and play, and a window-world that vaguely gives “Santa’s Workshop,” but weirder. Think pegboard, invented tools, mobiles, and colorful objects that summon a sense of childlike wonder without any overtly recognizable components. A vibe of curiosity and fun, color and shapes.