Cakeland.LA

Update: Cakeland LA’s Chinatown location has closed. According to the Cakeland website, a new location is yet to be announced.

In a small green building in Los Angeles, California’s historic Chinatown, beneath a logo of two intertwined dragons biting each other’s tails, is one of the most intriguing art installations in Southern California. Cakeland features several rooms of cake-themed extravagance, however, amid the whimsical designs are more serious undertones. 

Cakeland is the brainchild of artist Scott Hove, whose work often features recurring motifs of light and dark represented with a variety of cakes, lights, and sharp objects.

Aficionados of this style of walkthrough art installation may recognize Hove’s work from Meow Wolf Santa Fe, which features two rooms of his work. Hove’s stated goal is to put the duality of light and dark in every person’s life on display.

The cakes seem fluffy, delicious, and wholesome on the surface. However, if guests peer around the corners, look up at the ceiling, or take a closer gander at some of the details, they will realize there’s a bit of darkness in everything bright, and a bit of light in everything dark.