Behind the Scenes of Painting Wonderland Dreams
“Meade and her team of some 20 painting assistants devoted about two months to transform a shuttered Best Buy on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan into a 26,000-square-foot truly immersive exhibit, using her trademark 3D painting style to create a 2D dreamscape.
‘Me and my team worked around the clock, six days a week, going nonstop. We didn’t just paint the walls, we painted the floors and the ceilings. We painted all the furniture, the undersides of couches,’ said Meade. ‘We painted thousands of individual set pieces. We painted clothes and costumes for guests, we painted cupcakes, giant mushrooms, life-size flamingoes, and playing cards.’”
Using a scissor lift to paint the ceiling with Chris Stewart and Paul Juno in Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
A multi-floor Best Buy will be the canvas for Alexa Meade's Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Ruby June
Alexa Meade painting the floors in Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
Studio painter Sydnee Davis in Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mettie Ostrowski
Studio Manager Paul Juno painting in Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
Studio painter Alexa Cabrejo - photo by Mettie Ostrowski
Exhibit creator Alexa Meade sketches her ideas on the walls of Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Ruby June
Painting the Queen of Hearts Throne with Studio Painter Lee Anne Meeks - Photo by Mettie Ostrowski
Painting with multiple brushes in Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
Studio Manager Paul Juno painting the ceiling in Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
Mood boards taped on walls before painting Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mettie Ostrowski
Team painting the sky purple in Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
The Process of Building the Exhibit
“Meade planned the comprehensive project quickly but thoroughly, creating sketches, as well as a 78-page, single-spaced document capturing ‘all of my ideas that I wanted to execute. And this was written in paragraph form so these aren’t just a long list of bullet points, but really thought-out ideas,’ she said.”
De-install + Demolition
After the exhibit closed, the space had to be returned to the landlord in the same condition it was found. Many of the set pieces, props, and costumes were packed up and put into storage. Unfortunately, the hand-painted walls, floors, and ceilings of the exhibit could not be safely transported and the art was destroyed.
At the end of demolition, everything had to be re-painted white. By some magic, Wonderland Dreams got its security deposit back!
All the walls need to be repainted white in Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
Deinstalling Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
Even the ceilings had to be re-painted white - Photo by Mike Monaghan
The art small enough to fit into bins were prepared to be moved to a storage unit - Photo by Mike Monaghan
Some of the art was packed up to put into storage - Photo by Mike Monaghan
The art that could be saved was numbered for an inventory catalog - Photo by Mike Monaghan
Alexa Meade had to destroy her own art - Photo by Ruby June
Hundreds of works of art were thrown away in a dumpster - Photo by Mike Monaghan
That pile of rubble was formerly Alexa Meade's art in Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
The painted walls were pulled out of the building and put in the trash - Photo by Mike Monaghan
The window decals were removed - Photo by Mike Monaghan
The painted walls had to be ripped apart to deinstall Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Mike Monaghan
Words on Walls
As the exhibit was being torn down all around her, Alexa Meade started furiously painting some last parting thoughts on the walls.
Current Dreams and Future Dreams, Painted by Alexa Meade - Photo by Ruby June
Some thoughts painted out loud by artist Alexa Meade
Painting Feelings, Painted by Alexa Meade - Photo by Ruby June
Letting go of old dreams, painted by Alexa Meade - Photo by Ruby June
Painting through the tears, by Alexa Meade - Photo by Ruby June
Watching her Wonderland Dreams exhibit being deinstalled was painful for artist Alexa Meade
The Dream Team
Wonderland Dreams came to life through the joint effort of Alexa Meade and her remarkable team, who built the exhibit with their dedication and magic.
Special thanks to Cristiano Quieti, Kerry Barber, Ashley Murnane-Snively, Chris Stewart, Paul Juno, Scarlett Dare, Gabrielle Nuwar, Mike Monaghan, and Ruby June.
The senior studio team - Mike Monaghan, Paul Juno, Kerry Barber, Ashley Snively, Scarlett Dare, Alexa Meade, Chris Stewart
The build out team of Wonderland Dreams - Photo by Gianna Carly
