Balloon artist Jason Hackenwerth has created a giant balloon structure consisting of 14,000 latex balloons at the New Children’s Museum in San Diego.
The sculpture, called Crystal Cortex, opens into a cascading semicircular shape at least 50 feet high and will be on display in the museum’s atrium for the next three months.
Jason – who is famed for his large balloon designs resembling animals, insects and other creatures – has worked at the museum before, but as a memorable guest was invited back to help celebrate the museum’s 10th anniversary.
“The idea was to try to create a piece that could be both about the innocence of children and about the painful knowledge that we as adults try so hard to deal with in our daily lives, and this was an idea about using something very beautiful that could remind us of the joyful innocence of youth,” says Jason, who has has shown his works in New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Italy and, South Korea.
Tomoko Kuta, deputy museum director, said: “Jason’s colourful balloon structures are fascinating and a great example of how to make contemporary art accessible and engaging.”
The museum’s mission is to stimulate imagination, creativity and critical thinking in children and families through inventive and engaging experiences with contemporary art.
