MIGRATE is a temporary public art installation consisting of ten temporary sculptures created by Nevada artists specifically for the Wetlands Park.
Ten artists have created site-specific artwork for the Park using recycled and earth-friendly materials. Join in on the fun and walk the Wetlands from March 5 through March 31, 2022 to view these bright, playful, and engaging works of art from Nevada artists.
Artists:
Title: Intangible Beacons of Migration
Website / Social Media: www.waxpig.com/melting / @BrianGibson (Facebook), @null_void_art (Instagram)
Bio: Brian Christopher Gibson currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Staying in the Historic Huntridge Neighborhood, he finds comfort in the closeness to the creative energy of the city blocks surrounding him. He is a former Musician, turned Visual Artist. Abstract Expressionism is a prominent genre he seems to lean into, especially the larger he goes. Swooping gestures and disciplined line work flood the works with a sort of ease. It’s as if we can say in the midst of all these layers of chaos on canvas, we can say, “well, at least it’s all moving!” Having started painting in 2014, only recently has he begun to explore the possibilities in working on a larger scale; which has dramatically changed his work into a more focused aesthetic. He looks forward to further exploring himself and the power that can be found in working outside of your comfort zone.
Statement: Brian Christopher Gibson is an emerging 32 year old Abstract Expressionist Visual Artist, currently living in Las Vegas, NV.
Formerly expressing himself as a musician, in 2014 Gibson found greater solace in visual art. Guided solely by intuition (for better or worse), one could look at Gibson’s journey as a testament to the power in simply “showing up” consistently.
He is currently working towards submitting to more local art calls, and hopes to become more involved in the local arts community at large. It is in his interest to be as honest and uninhibited as possible, when creating works. Total stream of consciousness work is quite hard to articulate sometimes, but its effect is not lost on the viewer. He hopes to keep pushing that boundary.
Title: Unknown
Website / Social Media: www.hollylay.com / @hollographic (Instagram)
Bio: Holly Lay received her MFA from UNLV in 2019. Her art practice is inspired by mining digital archives, collecting references to cyber culture, femininity, craft and kitsch. When not working on her art in the studio or watching classic films, she is running a project space named Available Space Art projects (ASAP) located in Las Vegas.
Statement: Since the rise of social media, I have become increasingly interested in how this affects people and their identities. As tech continues to grow, change and monopolize, this changes the way I make my work and therefore changes the outcome and concepts rapidly. I am concerned with how I can bring these ideas into a physical realm off the screen. As a multidisciplinary artist, I explore themes of kitsch, pop & cyber culture, and the history of textiles. I am interested in creating installations that make the viewer question the concepts of reality and interaction. As technology advances this work will continue to evolve and grow as I navigate my own relationship to fine art vs craft, social networks, consumerism and digital reproduction.
Title: Southbound
Website / Social Media: www.homerohidalgo.com
Bio: Homero Hidalgo was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador and migrated to Miami as a teenager. He moved to the Bay Area to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Painting at the San Francisco Art Institute. He recently earned an MFA degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas where his interest focused on Robert Irwin’s theories of Conditional and Public Art. His early work is included in private and public collections such as the Denver Art Museum, the Snite Museum of Art in Notre Dame IN and he has been featured in international exhibits such as Pach Pan in 2019 at DiabloRosso gallery in Panama City, Panama. He lives and works in Las Vegas where he co-owns Available Space Art Projects (ASAP), an artist-run project space for local art. He has completed Public Work Installations and Murals for private residences, Clark County, City of Las Vegas and the City of Henderson.
Homero explores Painting’s unique textural properties and illusory characteristics of the figure-ground relationship. He also creates Installations, Murals and Public Art. His main obsessions are color, material properties and psychology. In Homero’s works, Form is made to circulate through systems that facilitate improvisation and generate experiments. An example of one such system is tracing forms from Film projections onto canvases; the randomly traced lines create All-Over compositions that exchange significancy with abstract expressionism, textile pattern design, geometry, optical illusions and Nature.
Statement: NA
Title: The Symbiosis
Website / Social Media:
Bio: I am currently a Master student at UNLV studying architecture and sustainable design. My BS is in biology, and I’ve spent my time as a graduate student at UNLV exploring the intersection between architecture and the sciences. I believe the most innovative solutions to our world’s problems lie in these intersections between disciplines, and every field can benefit from holistic thinking. In my free time, I enjoy exploring all types of design, including digital design, fashion, and film photography. I aspire to start a design studio with my partner, one in which we let our curiosity fuel our designs and are not limited in our creative endeavors.
Statement: The Wetlands acts as a site of preservation, education, and community involvement for Clark County. A place where people can immerse themselves in nature, and become a part of its conservation.
This statue aims to show the healthy and mutually beneficial relationship that we can have with the world around us. The symbiosis between mankind and the elements of nature.
(Julie Okabayashi, Deborah Lambin, David Lambin, Rachael Lambin, John-Henry Lambin)
Title: Look---Birds!
Website / Social Media: www.MyThousandWords.com / www.NevadaArtStops.com
Bio: Debbie Lambin, is a book artist from No. Nevada that has been as artist for over 20 years working with several mediums throughout her career then finalizing on paper and repurposing, reusing and recycling books, magazines and more into beautiful artwork. Working alongside her two children Rachel and John-henry, also book artists will be building the sculpture together. They have been recognized for their works which include 2019 Artown design, KNPB “ArtEffects” show, features in Tahoe Magazine, Nevada Magazine and many more. In 2019, Debbie and her husband David met Julie Okabayashi from Las Vegas Library system at the NV Art Council, BRX (Basin Range Exchange) and created NVArtStops program that travels the state of Nevada, helping to promote art to everyone. We are all very proud to be part of the Migration Project at the Wetlands for all to learn and love the beautiful nature that we all get to enjoy!
Julie Okabayashi has worked for the public library system in Las Vegas for over 18 years in meeting planning and special events. As a National Geographic Certified Educator, Julie conducts recycled book art workshops at local libraries and community centers to teach the concept of recycle, repurpose and reuse to help save our planet’s resources one book at a time. Julie has also spearheaded a community sustainable art project in which local residents can work together to develop & showcase new art made from old books, newspapers, magazines, and expired even flyers.
Statement:Our mission for creating our sculpture was to incorporate recycles, repurposing and reusing items into a beautiful art piece for all to enjoy! With the theme of Migration, we really were interested in showing a teacher/parent sharing the love of viewing the migration of birds flying into the Wetlands. As they look up with binoculars, they see birds flapping their wings as they fly through the Wetlands. –Debbie Lambin
As an avid walker, I visit the Wetlands several times a year to walk in the different seasons, always on the lookout for exotic birds. I’m not a regular birdwatcher, but I do love to see the birds coming in for the winter. I discovered my first white-faced ibis and great heron while walking at the Park! This is why I really appreciate the opportunity to develop art for the Migrate project. I feel that I’m giving back to the Park that has given me so much pleasure over the years, and I hope the community will embrace the kinetic sculpture that Debbie Lambin and I are presenting this year in celebration of World Migration Day as much as we come to embrace all of nature’s goodness at the Wetlands. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity! – Julie Okabayashi
Title: NA
Website / Social Media: www.santolstudios.com / @philip.ronnie.3 (Facebook), @santolstudios (Instagram)
Bio: PhilipRonnie is a self-taught artist from Las Vegas, Nevada. His current focus is finding new projects that combine his love for digital art and woodworking.
Statement: I like to make things.
Sometimes, I make things and I find that I like what I made.
Other times, I make things and I find that I don’t like what I made.
That is all.
Title: (I Never Did Send That Postcard) Wish You Were Here
Website / Social Media: @shan.m.evans (Facebook), @shan.michael.evans (Instagram)
Bio: An established self-taught Las Vegas artist since the late 1990s local Café Culture Scene, Shan Michael Evans has constantly displayed a certain world of wonder through his illustrated works. A purveyor of public art through stunning mural work and ongoing local projects including ZAP and the Arial Gallery, his work has been seen across the entire Las Vegas valley. Within a print catalog consisting of 1000’s of images; minimal characteristics and critical design development are assured, all the while an enigmatic collection of ideas and characters present and colorful and creative world. Participating in the many public projects and outings provided by the growing Las Vegas community is hi abiding inspiration and motivation.
Statement: My Wetlands piece is a vintage postcard one might send while on vacation: Welcome to the Wetlands/Wish You Were Here! Completed in an authentic simple illustration style, lightly dotted with plant life, a family of ducks enjoy their visit. A short and sweet message from the Wetlands to you may be read from the back. I hope to convey the concept of migration as not only a movement nor destination but to consider what one leaves behind. Though fitting for the Wetlands, I am not referring to pollution or litter, but more so regarding emotions and memories. The missing of a loved one. A wave goodbye. Inevitable changes.
Title: ARTERIAL
Website / Social Media: www.inart.com / @tafni (Instagram)
Bio: Tiffany Lin is an interdisciplinary artist and Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work examines how power is expressed through the subtext of American vernacular by combining exploratory drawing, installation, and social practice to investigate the construction of identity and belonging.
Saskia Krafft’s drawings and sculptures are inspired by her encounters with the natural world. She lives and works in Los Angeles, CA and Hamburg, Germany. Her projects originate from field trips to disturbed ecosystems. Krafft often adds her personal narrative to the work in order to recreate abstract and anonymous themes such as ‘global warming’ into relatable, individual, and tangible encounters with the natural world.
Statement: ARTERIAL is an outdoor installation and sound work that reimagines a bus stop as a place to wait without wanting. The work utilizes the visual language of modern transportation and displaces it into natural surroundings, underscoring the beauty of migration, movement, and change. Passersby are invited to sit inside the installation and listen carefully to the winds passing through the environment as they activate three wind harps installed atop the shelter. Originally created for the Goldwell Open Air Museum’s Bullfrog Biennial 2021, ARTERIAL metamorphoses into a new form in honor of World Migratory Bird Day.
Title: Killbird
Website / Social Media: www.vezun.com / @vezunvezun (Facebook). @vezunvezun (Instagram)
Bio: The son of immigrant parents, Vezun grew up with a culture clash present in his thoughts. A self-taught Las Vegas based visual artist, Vezun’s career path has been outside of the mainstream. He has self-published, exhibited in shows, been published, shown in film festivals, received grants, and done public art. With his work, he experiments with formats, styles, techniques and organizing color palettes but his work is about him going inward.
Statement: With my artwork, I explore my hidden inner dimensions. I pursue the ambiguous roots of my thoughts and feelings in my artistic practice. I use various media and mix these often. I strive to create work that people identify with and connects with them on a deeper unconscious level.
Title: NA
Website / Social Media: NA
Bio: Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Graduated from Las Vegas Academy in 1999 with an interest in Visual Design. While working with mixed media, my primary focus is painting with acrylics. For years a reserved studio artist, I have now taken my passions outside my comfort zone and into the open, participating in local public art projects.
Statement: With this piece I wanted to explore the theme of migration abstractly. I hope to show movement of the changing seasons through a color gradient.
The Wetlands Park Nature Preserve is open dawn to dusk every day. The Wetlands Park Nature Center, including the Exhibit gallery and Nature Store, is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Stop by to learn about all the Park’s activities throughout the spring.
MIGRATE is funded by the County Arts Plan. This exhibit is brought to you by a partnership between Wetlands Park and the Public Arts Office.
Please visit the Wetlands Park website for more information.
Clark County Wetlands Park
7050 Wetlands Park Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89122
Wetlands Park Art webpage
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