Commissioned by the Luminato Arts Festival in Toronto
Toronto, Canada
June 15-June 20, 2010
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL
December 2010
The High Line, New York
June 8-July 5, 2011
Rainbow City Roller Rink, Detroit, MI
November 30, 2018-January 27, 2019
Shreveport, LA
November 2-December 8, 2019
Rainbow City was a 40-piece environmental installation addressing the potency of interaction, ritual, and play. Inspired by Holi, a Hindu festival where people smear and drench each other with colors, FriendsWithYou presents a vibrant collection of mutable, air-filled sculptures. Fabricated of intensely colored materials, the installation encouraged visitors to be active and explore – subsequently, inventing their own ritual. The individual structures were simple, minimal forms, borrowing aesthetics from toy-like geometry and design. Each element towered over guests with height ranges from ten to forty feet. By dwarfing the audience, the totemic pieces triggered a sense of reverence, similar to the visual objective of a monolithic monument. During interaction, the inflated sculptures “embraced” visitors, while repetitive sound elements further enhanced the sensory experience. The overall installation created a surreal landscape of psychedelic scenery intended to simultaneously provoke a religious and childlike awareness. Rainbow City invited spectators to participate with a responsive environment, offering an opportunity to connect physically and psychologically with an energetic, yet ephemeral, setting.
A modified version of the “Rainbow City” Roller Rink was exhibited in Detroit, MI.
Shreveport, LA, 2019
Rainbow City Roller Rink, Detroit, MI, 2018-2019
The High Line, New York
2011
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL, 2010
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL, 2010
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL, 2010
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL, 2010
Luminato Arts Festival Toronto, Canada, 2010
Luminato Arts Festival Toronto, Canada, 2010
Luminato Arts Festival Toronto, Canada, 2010
Luminato Arts Festival Toronto, Canada, 2010
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