In the wake of the 2008 recession, numerous mom-and-pop grocery stores have been forced to permanently close their doors across the United States. California-based artist Patrick Martinez comments on this phenomenon in his latest installation, Come In We’re Closed.
Decorating the front of one of these abandoned shops with paintings of his parents and neon signs, one of which bears the words “trying to make a dollar out of 14 cents,” he pays tribute to the people whose lives have been deeply effected by this event.