For Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, size matters. He is well known for forging humongous large-scale charcoal portraits of people on buildings in their neighborhood and creating massive sand murals. He has now taken the scale of his artwork to the next level by creating pieces that can be seen through Google Earth.
His most recent work, titled ‘WISH’, is a portrait of an unknown girl in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the piece is located. The portrait, which spans an area of 11 acres, took several years to complete. Topcon GPS technology was used to map the area, before a pattern of plotted grids was devised. 30,000 wooden stakes were then applied as markers used to guide the creation of the portrait, which was somehow put together by volunteers using a mind-boggling 8 million pounds of rock, soil and sand. Unsurprisingly, WISH took several years to complete.
“Working at very large scales becomes a personal challenge but it also allows me to bring attention to important social issues,” Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada said. “The size of the piece is intrinsic to the value of its message.”
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Large-scale Art Installations
- Opportunities for artists to utilize technology and mapping tools to create massive artworks that can be seen through Google Earth
- Community Engagement
- Opportunities for local communities to become involved in the creation of massive public artwork through volunteerism, potentially driving positive social change
- Art and Social Commentary
- Opportunities for artists to use their massive artworks to raise awareness of important social issues
Industries Being Reshaped
- Art and Design
- The art and design industry can leverage advanced mapping technology to create large scale public artwork, potentially drawing attention to important social issues through their works
- Tourism
- Large-scale public artwork could be a tourism draw for local communities, attracting visitors to the area to see the massive installations in person
- Environmental Conservation
- The use of natural materials, such as rock, soil, and sand, in massive art installations creates an opportunity for conservation organizations to partner with artists and promote environmental stewardship
