Media:

Inflatable Sculpture, Recycled Material

Artist(s):

Carl Scrase

Dimensions:

14 metres high, 7 metres wide

Relative Urls:

http://generativepowerofopposites.blogspot.com/

Description:

Big is not always better, but in the case of a music festival, scale does matter. Carl Scrase considered this context when developing this 14 metre high inflatable sculpture simultaneously giving the peace and up yours symbols. From wherever you are in the festival site, this work will speak to you in very different ways.

A 14 metre inflatable sculpture of a 3D scan of the artists' hand doing a ‘V symbol’ made up of a patch work of re-used commercial signage. The sculpture is going to inflate and deflate constantly throughout the festival and will have internal lighting to give it a night presence. Depending on where the audience member ‘is’ they will perceive it as either a peaceful or an aggressive gesture.

Music festivals have always been associated with counter culture. There could not be a better place for ‘a giant symbol of the revolution!’

Background:

During Splendour in the Grass 2009, I was going through a phase of gesturing the ‘peace’ symbol; index and pointer fingers in the air, palm outwards with my thumb and other two fingers clenched. At some point during the festival, I think during the phenomenal Flaming Lips performance, I had the realisation that the ‘peace’ hand gesture, or symbol, turned the other way, can be taken as a rude ‘up yours’ gesture.

I found it mind boggling at the time how these two seemingly conflicting concepts could be embodied in this one gesture. I quickly came to see that things are not always black and white, maybe the Chinese were onto something with the whole Ying and Yang concept.

I am becoming very interested in the therapeutic nature of art, both on a micro level of the personal psyche and macro level of a society as a whole.

Can art express the unknown, resolve conflict and help with transitions?