Market Square transformed by art installation ‘Other Side of the World’
There’s a colorful island in the middle of Market Square.
It’s actually the 2018 Market Square Public Art Installation, “Other Side of the World,” which makes its official debut Thursday. The work, created by the internationally lauded BallNogues Studio in Los Angeles, was inspired by Amsterdam Island in the South Indian Ocean.
The installation is an abstract representation of the island that visitors may explore. Interpretive programming will be offered during its run, through May 25.
The artwork’s creators hope to encourage visitors to think outside the box and to reflect upon the world’s vast geography and the histories and stories of largely unknown places.
Amsterdam Island, on the opposite side of the world, is farther from Pittsburgh than any other habitable place on earth, Benjamin Ball of BallNogues said in a press release. “By exploring this unfamiliar locale — far from what we know and without using a lens of tourism — we can deepen our understanding of how we shape our own place in the world.”
The installation’s alternative title, “L’autre bout du monde,” reflects the island’s colonial history. The Spanish were the first Europeans to discover it, in 1522, followed by the Dutch. France claimed it in 1843 and it is currently inhabited by only 25 French climate scientists.
The artwork is presented by the City of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and the Office of Public Art. Additional funding is provided by the Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Fine Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, The Art Works program of the National Endowment for the Arts and an anonymous donor.