A new convenience store has opened on Yuyuan Lu, near Dingxi Lu, a short walk from the entrance to Zhongshan Park. Not the usual kind of story you'd expect on the Time Out blog admittedly, but this corner shop comes with a difference: all of the products are empty.
The store's shelves are fully stocked with what appears to be everything from packets of M&Ms and cans of Pepsi, to Durex condoms and Colgate toothbrushes, yet upon closer inspection you realise that all of the packaging is completely empty.
It's all the idea of Shanghai-based artist Xu Zhen, the main artistic force behind MadeIn. A leaflet available inside the shop insists that this 'isn't some kind of joke. It is an art project conceived by the brand Xu Zhen.' Xu has shown the work in some form in a number of galleries and museums before - you may have seen a version of it at his solo takeover of the Long Museum last year - but now it's viewable in a full-on convenience store setting.
Yes, that's a cashier sat there in the photo above, because despite the products being empty, they are still for sale. A disclaimer on the leaflet reads that 'all goods on sale are artworks that do not contain any use-value of commodities.' It goes on to say that there are no returns or exchanges, but if you choose to 'fill the void' (the supermarket's slogan) by purchasing one of the artworks, you can get 10 percent off by following Xu Zhen on WeChat. The receipts from the shop are more blunt: 'all of the products sold here are empty'.
Not that it's immediately obvious from the street. There are 'security cameras' mounted in the venue, presumably to record the reactions of anyone wandering in believing it to be an actual supermarket and on our visit we saw several people walk in, do a quick circuit, pick up what they thought they were after, frown, and stomp out to the Hualian a few doors down across the road.
The project is officially not for profit - the price of the 'products' apparently goes toward covering the cost of their manufacture - and Xu Zhen states that no brands or sponsors have been involved in the supermarket. The prices aren't hugely inflated; a bottle of Nongfu water is 2RMB for example, and we bought a bottle of Tsingtao Stout for 8RMB (before that 10 percent discount).
Do we now own a limited edition artwork or were we had? Did we take part in an intriguing art project or did we just pay slightly over the odds for an empty bottle? If you want to trouble yourself with similar questions, head down to 1386 Yuyuan Lu, near Dingxi Lu before May 8. The shop is open from 7am-midnight daily.