Balloon artist Jason Hackenwerth has bought his unique brand of experimental art to the UK as part of the National Museum of Scotland’s new interactive exhibition Existence: Life and Beyond at the museum.
The exhibition is part of Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018 and has been programmed with assistance from the Science Festival’s Youth Consultation Group and can be seen by the public until 22 April 2018.
A team of thirteen people worked for 50 hours each over six days to help make the interactive project – named Event Horizon – a reality. The sculpture is Jason’s largest work so far, using 25,000 balloons.
“Using balloons to make sculptures has magical results as well as built-in challenges,” said Jason. “The works are instantly recognisable as an exuberant celebration of life, and require no deep understanding of art to enjoy, but are temporary. This fleeting fact increases its rarity and urgency to see it while it lasts.”
He continued; “I hope the Science Festival audiences will enjoy getting lost in the gigantic rotating chasm of the Event Horizon.”
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “This unveiling of Jason Hackenwerth’s sculpture as part of this year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival is really exciting, merging art with science – and certainly one of the highlights of the festival’s rich programme of events.”
