Yesterday, I popped in to see what Allison was up to. There were more balloons, the shapes and scale of them have gotten more diverse. A few touch both floor and ceiling simultaneously, which begins to toy with your sense of proportion. One balloon caught my eye.
“Hey, it’s Penelope!” I said.
“Who’s Penelope?” asked Allison.
“You know Penelope, our big bronze sculpture in Central Court.”
“hmm, I’ll have to go up there and take a look…”
Pareidolia is the phenomenon where something significant and profound is seen or heard in random and ambiguous sounds and sights. (Remember the Virgin Mary on a slice of toast? Pareidolia.)
Watching Allison’s work evolve in gallery 31, I can’t help but give each form a name, a personality, make them “real,” assign them as significant. These oddly shaped ballooned blobs do nothing but slowly sway back and forth. They make no noise, have no expression, but there is a life to them. They exist in the space, same as I, alone with my thoughts. It is not unlike riding the bus, only more quiet, more cool, and less stinky.
Check out Allison’s wonderland…three weekends left!
Gallery 31 Art Studio.
Saturdays 10am-4:30pm, Sundays 1-5pm
through Oct 18
Due to recent events, Allison will NOT be handing out large helium balloons to children at the upcoming Bank of Hawaii Family Sunday.