This image series is part of a collection on Picture Hunters, an online museum devoted entirely to personal image collections. All photos courtesy of the collector.
A giant, rotating plastic sandwich, or an ice cream cone with the paint peeling off: neither's very appetizing, but apparently, they work. On nearly every shopping street in the Netherlands, you'll find a huge sign for something you should buy. Obviously if something is large, you want it."As landmarks, extra large objects have long been part of the landscape," says graphic and product designer Paul Baars, "bigger than you can pick up, which is good for sales." He should know: since the 70s, Baars has been active as a street photographer, traveling from here to Tokyo to shoot street advertising. The best photos he collects in the series, XL Objects.
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''I worked as a designer in New York for two years and at some point started all those sidewalk blocking giant shoes and oversized soda bottles to attack me on. I always have my camera with me and after every trip I could continue to expand the collection," he tells The Creators Project.Baars uses his collections (he gathers together more than just street advertising—he also collects manhole covers) for creating games, collages, books, and calendars. XL Objects now comprises about a hundred images, including many food items, as well as utensils, glasses, and guitars. "I like to drive a few kilometers to a beautiful extra-large instance," he says.
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