The six-metre-high Angel of Shopping and the three other angel sculptures have been designed as tourism objects of interest that the shopping centre Spice offers to the guests of Riga celebrating its 10th anniversary. The sculptures will be on display until the end of February 2012.

The sculptures of the angels and their provocative poses are characteristic of the style of Norbert Folberger.

“These angel sculptures are modern symbols, which is why I have sculpted them in contemporary appearance. These are neither church, nor cemetery sculptures. People traditionally associate angels with little jolly baroque-style putties - sweet little babies with wings. But the angel ensemble at Spice is something entirely different - these angels herald the values that modern-day people hold dear. They possess something magical and wonderful - I tried to put these feelings into the angels as I sculpted them. Given that Spice is a shopping centre, the key figure in the ensemble is the Angel of Shopping,” artist Norbert Folberger tells about his sculptural ensemble at the shopping centre Spice.

Shopping centre Spice Director Iveta Lāce comments, “This year we are marking the 10th anniversary of the shopping centre Spice, and it appears that all these years a higher power has been with us, guarding and inspiring us. In ten years, Spice has grown from a small supermarket in Riga’s Pārdaugava to one of the largest and most popular shopping complexes in the Baltic countries. We have decided to materialise this higher power by placing the sculptures of the Angels of Love, Wisdom, Money and Shopping at Spice. I hope that these sculptures will inspire Spice customers and help everyone get into the holiday spirit!”

Each angel has her own legend and tasks to take care of:

Customers who want to find the best products at best prices have to look the Angel of Shopping in the eye before they enter Spice.
Couples that sit and kiss on the Lovers Bench are in for never-ending love, harmony and happiness, courtesy of the Angel of Love.

One who is to have an exam, an important interview or a tough choice to make should rub the Philosopher’s Stone held by the Angel of Wisdom. This should clear things up and bring new and ingenious ideas.

Finally, the Angel of Money will take care about good luck and welfare. Anyone who drops a coin in the angel’s chest will be bound to have a thick wallet and good luck.

The creator of the angels at the shopping centre Spice, artist Norbert Folberger, has designed sculptures for Bayreuth Opera House and the Berlin State Opera, worked in the largest culture centres in Europe, America, and Asia, a Pollock-Krasner Fund’s scholarship holder in New York, and awarded the Grand Prix Mondial for his works during the Avignon Art Festival as well as the Critic Award in Hong Kong. The artist has been living in Latvia for several years now; member of the Centre of Latvian Sculptors, he is a regular participant in the key sculpture exhibitions in Latvia. 

A poll carried out at the shopping centre Spice and portal www.draugiem.lv this past September determined that 39,560 or 60 percent of the surveyed believe in angels. Likewise, a 2010 survey by the market research and analysis company Nielsen established that 51 percent of Australians believe in angels, and so do 68 percent of the Americans.