Balloon Installations
Balloon installations require equal parts inspiration and perspiration. My work is bursting with creativity. During the creation of a piece the speed of execution is blinding, and the endurance almost unbelievable. If I am building in a public space, large crowds of curious onlookers will gather.
I create both entirely original works, and custom pieces based on other peoples designs- for example logos or mascots.
As one of the pioneers of large-scale pure balloon sculpture (ie. no framing), I've spent thousands of hours designing and building big balloon-based art. Highlights include being the first balloon sculptor to have a piece commisioned for a major gallery (the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto), building a six metre pyramid in Sarajevo, creating (with Dutch artist Hester Oerlmans) the world's first balloon fashion show (In Utrecht, Holland), and crafting a geodesic balloon dome which morphed into a giant, three-eyed fish for the band Phish.
Pictures from different gigs around the world- From a Chinese Circus Festival, to a peace project in Sarajevo, to over the top cabarets in Toronto, to a Play in Berlin with Peaches... Yes, i lead a charmed life.
These pictures are from a special installation at the ROM. The occasion was Tom's Bar Mitzfah. This pyramid/skyscraper was over 20 feet tall. As beautiful as it was, i think Tom had the most fun helping me to pop it after the event was finished!!!
Scene: The White Trash diner- an uber cool, after-hours hangout in Berlin.
Time: 4 am, one Saturday morning, a few days before Chinese new years...
Wally the owner comes over to my table, buys me a few drinks, and we get to talking. "It would be cool to have a 20 foot balloon dragon" right over the bar...," he opines... well, the next thing you know
Working with artist Hester Oerlmans at a Klein biennel in Utrech Holland, and with a little help from my friends(Thanks Sina,Denis, Ingrid, Guido)... I designed and created the worlds first ballon fashion show. Costumes and techniques were influenced by styles over the years, and projections of future fashion. The show itself was a hyper-creative parody of the culture of catwalk! We also did a video projection in a mlitary fort of a woman in an exploding balloon dress (Bang Bang Bang). Now that's ART!
