The Ursas installation by Jen Lewin has been permanently installed at Nevins Landing along Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal after debuting at Burning Man in 2023. Inspired by the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations, the paired sculptures anchor the Gowanus Wharf development designed by Fogarty Finger with landscape architecture by Field Operations. The 30-foot-tall Ursa Major is constructed from reclaimed ocean plastic originally used in Lewin's The Last Ocean installation, while the 13-foot-tall Ursa Minor incorporates infinity mirrors and programmable LED lighting.
Visitors can enter Ursa Major to experience an infinity-mirrored chamber displaying hand-drawn illustrations of species listed as extinct or presumed extinct on the IUCN Red List. The installation occupies a public waterfront site within the four-building Gowanus Wharf campus, becoming one of the first permanent artworks to define the neighborhood's redevelopment. The sculptures were transported from Nevada to Brooklyn before being lifted into place along the canal on August 1.
Image Credit: Mattias Lowe
What's Driving This Trend
- Interactive Civic Art
- Permanent public sculptures with immersive lighting and walk-in experiences signal new ways for real estate developments to create memorable shared destinations.
- Reclaimed Material Landmarks
- Artworks built from recovered ocean plastic highlight how sustainability narratives can become visible architectural and placemaking assets.
- Festival-to-city Installations
- Large-scale experiential works migrating from temporary cultural events to permanent urban sites reveal demand for spectacle-driven community infrastructure.
Who This Affects Most
- Public Art
- Interactive, programmable installations expand the role of civic art from passive beautification to participatory storytelling in high-traffic urban spaces.
- Real Estate Development
- Waterfront campuses incorporating signature artworks can differentiate mixed-use projects while embedding cultural identity into neighborhood regeneration.
- Sustainable Design
- Creative reuse of discarded plastics in major public installations demonstrates how environmental materials can support both aesthetic impact and ecological messaging.
