Burlington City Arts is pleased to announce newly installed sculpture by artist Abby Manock in Burlington’s City Hall Park. The Airborne Jellyfish Project is an ongoing project by the Burlington/Brooklyn based artist, and features 4 larger-than-life jellyfish sculptures hanging from the trees in City Hall Park. The sculptures will be installed from November through February 2014. These whimsical sculptures were installed with help from the Burlington City Arborists and Burlington Parks Department. Abby’s project is also featured in the statewide BCA exhibition Of Land & Local, which continues through December 7th at The BCA Center.
In a statement about The Airborne Jellyfish Project, Abby Manock says, “This November marks the tenth year of the ongoing study of these illusive creatures and their interventions with the public. In honor of the occasion, we ask you to participate in our research by taking a moment to observe the Airborne Jellyfish in a semi-urban environment and contemplate the existence of “Nothing” that goes into all processes of creation. With this we conclude: Art is more than the sum of jellyfish parts.”
Abby describes her process as being “about production, as defined by both uses of the noun. Elaborate logistics that go into the production of objects, costumes, sets that culminate in a staged production, be it a performance, game, race, parade, video or spectacle, are all sequences of visual narrative. Using five specific colors (red, blue, green, yellow, pink) physical objects are given identity as recognizable parts of the system. Within the studio, tools, paints, sculptural objects, clothing, storage vessels (all color coated/coded) become the stage for my production, with all necessary objects, myself included, making up a cohesive cast of characters.”
Abby Manock received her MFA from Columbia University in 2007. Her drawings and sculpture have been included in select exhibitions in New York, London, Berlin, Los Angeles, Miami, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and most recently at MARTE Contemporáneo in San Salvador, El Salvador. Her large scale, interactive and game-like performative projects have been showcased by the Deitch Projects Art Parade in NYC in 2006, Performagia 2008 in Mexico City, the William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, CT, as well as several major concert venues across the US. She has lectured at the Art Center of South Florida, Bowdoin College, and the University of Connecticut, and is an adjunct drawing professor at Columbia University. She splits her time between Burlington, Vermont and Brooklyn, NY.
