Artwork Description
Drift is part artificial wonderland, part physical ordeal, an artwork that asks audience members to rethink our experience and understanding of the urban environment.
– David Cross, 2011
Drift involved a huge yellow PCV tunnel inflated over the Taylor Square Fountain, offering the public a very different bouncy castle experience. Participants entered, one at a time, then slid down the tunnel, navigating the forthcoming randomly sprouting jets of water.
As the tunnel darkened, the individual relied less on their sight and more on their hearing and tactile perception to avoid getting sprayed. Within the structure, they had an intimate psychological journey—potentially experiencing themselves as brave, flexible and innovative in the face of a changing environment.
David Cross used this bright temporary inflatable artwork to playfully reconfigure the public space. The incorporation of water served to break away from the built environment and to humanize the space. Extending from the fountain across the pedestrian crossing, Drift challenged the conception of Taylor Square as a “gritty urban thoroughfare” and turned it into a playground.
Artist
New Zealand-based artist David Cross works across performance, installation, video and public art, focusing on the relationship between pleasure, the grotesque and the phobic.
