oyster-sauce

WIND NOMADS

Don't you love that name?

Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day in New York. Sunshine was abundant, and the sky seemed extra blue. A friend called early in the day and invited me to Governors Island, where it was to be the last day of the New Island Festival, an annual gathering of Dutch artists that included art exhibits, music, food and other cool things like the silent disco (which is pretty hilarious, btw).

I have been a Brooklyn resident for almost 10 years now, and have never stepped foot on Governors Island. I was so pleasantly surprised once I arrived. The buildings are slightly colonial, making it seem more like Virginia than New York City. Lots of green and tons of charm. There's a FREE ferry from Manhattan and DUMBO, Brooklyn (and as we all know, I'm a big fan of free!)

We stumbled upon the above outdoor exhibit, which from afar, resembles a group giant butterflies scattered about the lawn. 400 individual artists were asked to create boards (to signify 400 years of relations between New York and the Netherlands), each hinged in a unique way, making the boards look like their wings are "flapping".

The idea was formed by a group called SLeM, which creates what it calls "landscape theater". According to SLeM, "landscape-theater is a form of location theater in which the landscape is temporally influenced, transformed and can be provided with new significance. Landscape-theater operates on the periphery of daily reality. A landscape is created or transformed, and in order to shift perspectives, alienated and charged with theatrical and/or musical elements. The public can be spectator and participant simultaneously. This allows for the release of ‘social energy’ which can lead to surprising results."

Can you imagine what the "butterflies" look like from a birds-eye view? Wow...