The third of nine Fossils from the Future appeared in downtown Kelowna. They are the work of Okanagan artist Johann Wessels for the Kelowna Art Gallery.
Image Credit: Contributed
October 14, 2015 - 11:30 AM
KELOWNA - The third in a series of art pieces that have been popping up around downtown Kelowna can be seen on Bernard Avenue.
The industrial art pieces, called Fossils from the Future, are the work of Okanagan artist Johann Wessels for the Kelowna Art Gallery. The first piece, the wreckage of a downed spacecraft, appeared over the downtown Cultural District in early September and the second is a metallic and glass capsule containing mundane items like soda cans, a light bulb and other objects.
The latest, which hangs from a Bernard Avenue light post near Kerry Park, is the third of nine planned pieces partially paid for by the city. It is another metal and glass capsule but with a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa painting the contents of this one are anything but mundane.
“It certainly raises a number of troubling questions,” an art gallery release says. “How is it possible that this fragment and the real version in The Louvre can coexist? What happens in the future to cause such destruction — and what would a future without any art be like?”
Near each of the pieces is a placard offering information specific to that piece as well as a question or suggestion how the public they might engage further.
Over the next few months, six more fossils will appear at various points around downtown Kelowna. The temporary pieces cost the city $15,000 and will only be on display for six months before they will be given back to the artist.
Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #futurefossils to join the conversation. A website has also been launched, which will feature video clips, clues, and conversation feeds from social media.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015