Fort you’d seen everything Lauderdale has to offer? Then allow Thrive to cement your decision to return to this tropical paradise. This 27-foot-tall bombshell, designed by delightful South African artiste Daniel Popper, can be found begging for attention on a dank street corner beneath an apartment block – but she’s certainly no street walker.
Well, she doesn’t have any legs, does she?
What Thrive does possess is supple lips, luxurious hair and perky bosoms, making her Flori-dang gorgeous. And whilst Thrive may have a heart of stone, she’s willing to lay it bare for anyone willing to peer inside her torn-asunder chest. Cripes, if all women were this open then perhaps some of us wouldn’t have grown up so confused.
Thrive is a remarkable example of urban art; an exquisitely-realised sculpture who brings life and wonder to an otherwise drab area of town. The city itself, impersonal and grey, seems to have taken human form in order to embrace those who live amongst its cold cement and senseless steel.
Impossible to ignore, it’s common to see an eclectic mix of tourists, office workers and street urchins ogling Thrive’s voluptuous physique . I even saw a local drunk trying to chat her up! Oh, my silly friend, don’t you know she’s asexual?
“In many ways it’s a symbol of hope and transformation which has been central to many people’s worlds during 2020,” ‘Poppy’ said of Thrive, whilst sadly misgendering her. “I hope they will continue to interact with it and enjoy it and that the message and feeling continues for many years to come.”
I’m not sure you’d be saying that if you witnessed the way the local drunk was trying to ‘interact’ with your masterpiece!
Sister Act
Thrive may seem like a unique butterfly, a paragon of unmatched magnificence and grace, but she does have twin. The hedonistic Ven a la Luz lives in the Mexican party mecca of Tulum, where she was installed by Poppy in 2018.
With her salacious wooden peritoneum and fiery Latina temperament, Ven a la Luz provides a natural and carefree counterpoint to Thrive’s modern-day sensibilities. The two look so similar but couldn’t have more disparate personalities – one sagacious and glamorous, the other passionate and free-spirited.
Despite their idiosyncrasies, I’d love to see Thrive and Ven on a double date with fellow legless giants Ernie and The Viking. Well, where did you think baby Big Things come from?
‘Stayin’ with Thrive’ by the Bee Geez-She’s-Big!
Well, you can tell by the way Bigs walks
I’m a concrete woman’s man, of her I talk
Bosoms large and smile warm, she grows from the ground
She is enorm
And now it’s alright, it’s okay
I guess if I love her I can’t be gay
We can try to understand
This Florida giant’s effect on man
Yeah I might be a brother with issues about my mother
But I’m stayin’ with Thrive, stayin’ with Thrive
The love we’re makin’ has my booty shakin’
And I’m layin’ with Thrive, layin’ with Thrive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, playin’ with Thrive, playin’ with Thrive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, I’m finally alive
Oh, when you walk
