The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2023, is one of the largest music festivals in the world, attended by over 250 thousand people. The festival is held annually and extends across two weekends. The gates of Coachella 2023 opened last weekend, on April 15th, 16th and 17th in Indio, California. The festival will be back in action from April 21st to 23rd.
So far, we have seen Frank Ocean, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, and BLACKPINK and several artists grace the stage last weekend. In addition to a lineup of music artists, Coachella also presents magnificent art installations.
‘Surprise encounters with these outsized projects in the middle of the valley, surrounded by music and the collective energy of the crowd has become a much-anticipated shared experience at the Festival’, said Paul Clemente, director of Coachella’s art programme.
Now, let us look into some of the poetic creations at Coachella 2023 that merge art, nature and architecture.
Molecular Cloud by Vincent Leroy
The French artist Vincent Leroy created huge purple reflective orbs that look like clouds that reflect like mirrors. An element of dynamism comes to play when the reflection on the clouds changes as crowds, time and weather change. The orbs are made of poly-mirror steel to represent enigmatic clouds. And then, the dream-like organic structure sits on steel poles, resembling giant pink clouds floating in the sky.
Vincent Leroy’s works have been described as an interaction of ‘industry’ with the environment to offer an immersive experience. According to Leroy, his installations are set to inspire contemplation and meditation, touching the body and releasing emotions.
Eden by Maggie West
Eden has been stated as one of the world’s largest 3-D photography installations. Vibrant sculptures of flowers made from steel, ranging from 6 to 56 feet tall create a “larger than life” garden. The installation at Coachella 2023, indeed creates a contrast as the highly detailed super blooms are installed in a desert environment. The floral designs are cut out of photographs of a variety of plants taken by West. Then they are overlaid with both warm and cool colour palettes that create a magenta hue.
The Los Angeles-based artist is known for her colourful time-lapse photography as well.
The Messengers by Kumkum Fernando
The Messengers are three mythical figures that resemble giant robots or action figures. Vietnam-based Sri Lankan artist Kumkum Fernando’s work is inspired by Tibetan art and architecture. Also the folklore of gods and demons the artist had heard during his youth and travels. In fact, the ‘patterns’ on the idols, as Kumkum refers them to, have been taken from Hindu temple designs and Persian rugs. Furthermore, the idols are illuminated by pink lights at night for a mystical appearance.
Holoflux by Güvenç Özel
An innovative work by Güvenç Özel, a steel-and-wood structure with a vinyl colour-gradient surface with a tint of iridescence. In fact, it looks like a sculpture when viewed from a distance. But as you move closer it transforms into a special piece of architecture. Something that the crowd can walk underneath and around. And get a view of the surface print playing with the perceptions of three-dimensionality.
The Holoflux appears different from every view. At some angles, it looks symmetrical and stable. While looking through another angle, in contrast, it appears lean, defying gravity. And then, at night it displays flashing lights and graphics and changes colours giving it additional effects.
Spectra by NEWSUBSTANCE
Spectra is conceived and realised by UK-based creative studio, NEWSUBSTANCE. It is a seven-storey pavilion-cum-art installation where you can walk the spiral stairway to the viewing deck at the top. And here you get a 360-degree view of the festival. A series of a succession of Perspex window panels featuring the colour spectrum of the rainbow in a gradient form, a rich interplay of light and colour. And then, as you walk through Spectra, each colour panel gives you a reinterpretation of the view. You can also observe how the colours transmute in the tower during the early morning and evening hours.
Balloon Chain by Robert Bose
With the sky as the canvas, the Balloon Chain is an ephemeral, dynamic sculpture made of strands of helium balloons. Each strand is more than half a mile long.
New York-based Robert Bose created the Balloon Chain by attaching balloons to fishing wire. And this is then arched up hundreds of feet into the sky, creating an artificial rainbow. At night, the balloons are lit with LED lights. Posing by holding one end of the Balloon Chain has become trending on social media.