Visitors to Bainbridge Island’s Waterfront Park may spot two unfamiliar installations — something buggy and something blue.
The “Something New VII” public art campaign by Arts and Humanities Bainbridge added two pieces on cement plinths next to the walkway through the park July 17. “Blue” by Jenny Ellsworth and “Isopoda” by Matthew Berger are aptly named metal sculptures that kick off the seventh year of AHB’s campaign.
Several “new” looks are coming to downtown, too — three more sculptures will be added to locations around the Winslow area in the next few months. All five pieces are constructed by local artists and are available for sale. They will stand outdoors on display for about 11 months, then will be replaced by “Something New” the next year.
The program spotlights the talents of sculptors around Kitsap County, but it also draws attention to the Bainbridge Creative District, one of 13 in Washington. Since 2019, cities throughout the state can apply to designate a certain geographic area as a “creative district”, which can earn the town funding for small-scale projects that invest in the town’s creative economy. Creative Districts must be walkable areas that may be a local hub of tourism, creative jobs and cultural activities.
“Blue” is a sphere 2.5 feet in diameter made of cogs painted a luminous teal that almost evokes the color of copper rust. The cogs are all different sizes, and the irregular spaces between each component give the impression that the cogs are floating, like watching debris travel across the soapy surface of a bubble — in this case, a large, mechanical bubble. The elements of the piece are all reclaimed scrap metal, Ellsworth said.
“I love finding different ways to use scrap metal in my sculptures, so that it can tell its first story of what it once was and then its new story of what it is,” she wrote in her artist statement. “It’s giving scrap metal a second chance. My goal is to inspire the community to create, interact and see the potential in ‘throw away’ material.”
Berger’s “Isopoda” draws on the artist’s complicated relationship with his disability and how that affects his purpose as a creator. The eponymous isopod, made of bronze, clings to a seven-foot-tall structure made of steel pipes that captures a sensation of uncontrollable movement; a blade of grass or stick swaying in the wind, or a wave crashing on a beach.
Berger was forced to reckon with his physical and mental disabilities during his senior year of art school and had to leave to seek healthcare. Learning to live with his disabilities was a challenge, but he found kinship with isopods. Isopods are important decomposers in ecosystems that process decaying matter and heavy metals into more enticing nutrients that other organisms can use. Like waves, isopods gather energy and matter only to expel it back into the system from whence it came, he observed.
“Without these insignificant specks crawling about we would cease to be. We live in a world where our entire purpose is to produce capital and if an action does not produce it is superfluous,” Berger said. “I do not wish for fame. I do not hope for vast wealth. I only hope to create. I have broken down the walls that kept me from my divine task and have accepted my call to breathe yet more beauty into our world.”
“Blue” is available for $7,000 and “Isopoda” is available for $12,000.
