A sweet treat not to eat: 'Sugar High' immerses Enid visitors in a colorful candy land

ENID — From a candy-hoarding dragon and coloring-book walls to butterscotch-scented mushrooms and a sparkly disco ball, a sweet art experience with a tart underlying message is hitting the spot in downtown Enid.

More than 20 Oklahoma artists joined forces to build "Sugar High," a large-scale immersive art installation at PJ’s, 220 N Washington. Admission is free to the temporary attraction, which is open to the public through May 8.

"I saw so many people ... who were like, 'What Enid needs is more family-friendly attractions that people can afford to go to.' I was like, 'You know what? I can do that.' And I hope it's something that leads to more," said Romy Owens, one of the lead artists on the project.

"The past two years were hard for everyone ... so it's like, 'Can we have something that unites us? Can we do something together that is available and free for everyone ... that provides community conversation?'"

What can people expect from 'Sugar High?'

The first art installation of its kind in Enid, "Sugar High" is akin to Factory Obscura's "Mix-Tape" in Oklahoma City or Meow Wolf's immersive experiences that started in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and have spread to other cities. Immersive installation art isn't just something that hangs on the walls or sits on pedestals; it creates a whole new world that visitors can actively explore.

"Immersive installation art is kind of having a moment, and it seemed very fitting for our goals for doing something that was community building," Owens said.

"Sugar High" is set in a fictional future in which humans only eat sugar-based foods and instant gratification is the way of life.

"It's almost like we're taking all of the negative characters from 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' — we're taking the Veruca Salt and the Augustus Gloop and the Mike Teavee and the Violet Beauregarde — and we're making the world that they live in," said Owens, an Enid native who previously devised the large-scale sculpture "Under Her Wing Was the Universe" for her hometown.

"'Tantalizing' is a good word. It's like, 'This is what that world might look like, and there will be sugar everywhere. ... But if you did live in that world, when do you get tired of eating sugar if that's all you can eat forever?'"

What will 'Sugar High' visitors experience?

The world of "Sugar High" is packed with stunning visuals — candy-colored murals, giant sculpted ants and an artificial sunset that faces a large swing you can actually swing on — with a dystopian cautionary tale at its center. QR codes throughout the installation reveal the backstory of the fictional world.

"We hope that everybody hears the message that there's danger in being driven by things like instant gratification and sugar. But even if folks see nothing more than, 'Hey, this is colorful and interesting ... and boy, this art's fun,' that's OK, too, because we're expanding what counts as art in our community," said Ben Ezzell, the other lead artist for "Sugar High."

"That's how you broaden, that's how you grow things, is you expand what people recognize as art. So, that's what we're trying to do."

Visitors can venture into an illuminating "Sugar Detector," explore secret rooms and color the candy goblins depicted on the coloring-book wallpaper designed by Enid artist Twyleen Tepe. They can check out the made-up products lining the shelves in a mockup bodega, plunge into the disco ball dazzle of the "Disco Lemonade" or face off with a confectionary-hoarding dragon named Sugaryen, crafted by Enid artist Lori Hill.

"We want to show that art can be anything: It can video of animations in a TikTok style. Art can be these weird blobby things that line a slide that you go down into a 'Chocolate Canyon,'" Owens said.

"It can be a masking-tape mural. (OKC artist) Jes Petrus came up with that."

The immersive exhibit also incorporates Enid songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Riley Jantzen's soundscape and Piedmont artist Nick Bayer's super-size sculptures of candy cap mushrooms, which, like the real things, actually smell like an alluring blend of butterscotch and maple syrup.

"It's really tempting, and if you like butterscotch, it's like you can't escape it," Owens said. "But there's not a single edible thing in there. We very intentionally did not make an edible component. Because we're in a borrowed building, we don't want to introduce roaches or ants or any real pests to the space."

Property owner Rob Cummins is providing the space for "Sugar High" rent free.

"He was very generous ... and it was a big benefit to us," said Ezzell, an attorney and former Enid City Council commissioner. "We really only could have done this because we have this arts nonprofit, Atelier, that my mom and I set up several years ago to support working artists."

Who created 'Sugar High'?

A deliberately vague call for artists allowed Owens and Ezzell to bring together delectable ideas from creative minds sprinkled across the state, including Aunj Braggs, of Tulsa; Angie LaPaglia, of Mulhall; Kiona Millirons, of Edmond; and Hugh Meade and Klint Schor, of OKC.

Along with Owens and Ezzell, more than half of the artists involved call Enid home, including Tox Murillo, Nathan Guidry, Terence Naude, Evan Chermack, Chris Bodelle, Corey Keller, Jamie Kimball, Jaime Rodriguez and Monica Rorick.

"Ben and I certainly are friends, and I know the other artists. But I've never worked with any of them before ... so it really has been great," Owens said. "Some of them were like, 'I make stuff, but I've never been in a show.' So, I was glad to say, 'Be in our show.'"

"Sugar High" is even supplying a sweet opportunity for a couple of aspiring artists: Len Northcutt, an Enid eighth-grader, assembled a secret "Panic Room" installation and a mobile incorporating Shrinky Dinks toys, and Bea Broyles, an OKC third-grader, created the line drawings that were printed and cut out on vinyl and now adorn the front windows of the attraction.

"I wanted to be an artist in 'Sugar High,' so I was brave enough to ask Romy if I could. And what felt like a thousand weeks later, my mom told me I got a job in 'Sugar High.' I literally screamed," said Bea, who also recorded a Facebook video encouraging people to donate to ensure the installation could open in April with free admission.

"I started, for some reason, making art when I was really, really little. I guess it just grew into my gut that I am an aspiring artist. ... People driving cars, from the street, can see the art that I made that is on the windows, and I just think that's amazing."

Who can experience 'Sugar High?'

"Sugar High" is open to the public from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, 1 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays through May 8. During the week, the installation is open for school field trips and photo shoots.

"It's age-appropriate for 6- and 7-year-olds — that's our sweet spot — but it's also age appropriate for 16- and 17-year-olds and for 40- and 50-year-olds," Owens said. "Everybody's going to get something different out of it, which is awesome."

The artists also have outfitted a trailer as a mobile mini-installation called the "Sugar Cube" that they are taking to area elementary schools to show and tell not only about "Sugar High" but also about the possibilities inherent in art.

"When I was a kid, I wish I'd heard more of that. It took me a long time to realize: This stuff that now I call art, I thought of as, 'Oh, that's just me putting stuff together.' But there is art in it, and everyone has something that they do that's creative. ... We want to show kids that art can take all these different forms," said Ezzell, a woodworker and printmaker who has built sets for local theaters but is showing his work in a public art show for just the second time with "Sugar High."

"We had over 1,000 people come through in the first weekend of a weird art installation in Enid, Oklahoma. That's, in my mind, a huge success."

'SUGAR HIGH'

When: Through May 8.

Where: 220 N Washington, Enid.

Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, 1 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays through May 8.

Admission: Free.

Information: https://www.sugarhighenid.com and https://www.facebook.com/sugarhighenid.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Sugar High' art installation immerses Oklahoma town in candy land