Massive show about people's hobbies lands in Croydon
Come As You Really Are is packed with thousands of objects
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Most of us dabble in some hobby or other as a way to keep ourselves occupied and maybe pick up a few new skills along the way, but Hetain Patel has just elevated the concept of the pastime to an entirely new level—and he’s done it in Croydon.
Starting out collecting comic books and Transformers as a child, the British-Gujarati artist decided in 2013 to turn his old 1988 Fiesta into a real-life Transformer. Now, this formidable sculpture—named simply Fiesta Transformer—takes pride of place in a huge new exhibition debuting in Croydon this July, which is all about hobbies and the people behind them.
Come As You Really Are—described as “a contemporary portrait of the UK as seen through the lens of the nation’s hobbies”—occupies both floors of the former Milan Bar on Croydon High Street, plus an adjacent unit, filling what’s been branded the ‘Hobby Cave’ with thousands of objects that reflect the dizzying spectrum of extra curricular pursuits enjoyed up and down the country.
And what a show awaits you. Lego creations, Warhammer figurines, football shirts, micro-ceramics,