Hot Wheels

A muse can take many forms. Miami-based Jacquelyn Jackson Johnston found inspiration passed out under a tree in Little Haiti.

"I spotted this homeless guy who had taken two shopping carts and made a double-decker loft, complete with storage space," Johnston recalls. "This guy had nothing and managed to be so creative. I was like, fuck that — imagine what I can do, imagine what other artists could do with a shopping cart."

Her sighting spawned the "Pimp My Kart"designer shopping cart exhibition — wheeling into Miami just in time for Art Basel — for which Johnston recruited the assistance of twenty local artists and a host of miscellaneous creative folks.

Some highlights include a hot-rod cart and a bicycle cart that members of the public are invited to test-drive; a surveillance cart; and Johnston's White on White, an ode to Ukrainian cubist painter Kasimir Malevich. Local painters Kiki Valdes and Brandon Opalka are also set to display their creations.

The carts are scheduled to be auctioned off December 3, and two-thirds of the sale price will be donated to the Community Partnership for the Homeless of Miami-Dade.

"The original inspiration for an artwork so often never sees any of the final profit," says Johnston. "I'm not here just to put art up on a wall. I think this show pushes the boundaries of what artists can do and how they can interact with society."