In Los Angeles, big names took center stage at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this weekend, among those Lana Del Rey, Skepta, Peggy Gou, Lil Uzi Vert, and others. Accompanying this year’s musicians at the widely attended California festival are three large-scale installations designed by London-based artist Morag Myerscough; HANNAH, an Ithaca, New York, office founded by Leslie Lok & Sasa Zivkovic; and Nebbia, a London studio led by Brando Posocco and Madhav Kidao.
Public Art Company and Goldenvoice curated the installations, together with Paul Clemente, Coachella’s art director. “Art has the power to transform spaces and minds alike,” said Raffi Lehrer, founder of Public Art Company. “We aim to not only adorn the festival grounds but to create environments that provoke thought, evoke emotion, and encourage a shared experience among all attendees. Our collaboration with these incredible artists brings a fresh perspective to what art at a music festival can be.”
The installations spread throughout Coachella Valley’s Empire Polo Field, Clemente said, are meant to redefine the festival landscape and enhance the overall attendee experience. Indeed, by the time the last performer departs the stage on April 21, thousands of attendees will have snapped obligatory Instagram pics with the artworks that range in style from maximalist expressionism to phantasmagoric Brutalism.
HANNAH’s design, entitled Monarchs: A House in Six Parts, is a collaboration between Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivokovic, two architects who teach at Cornell University. Monarchs explores the fusion of 3D printing with traditional craftsmanship, the architects said. It posits a series of pavilions designed to evoke objects and themes related to nature, for instance wings, trees, or flying insects. The fan-like timber crowns of the towering structures are supported by a hefty 3D-printed concrete base. At Coachella, Lok and Zivokovic sought to reimagine architectural design through the lens of digital fabrication while pulling inspiration from the natural environment, they said.
Dancing in the Sky by Morag Myerscough is another polychromatic ensemble. It consists of a vibrant, geometric plaza that draws the eye upward toward a mobile-like construction realized across expansive metal framing. Myerscough, an artist known for her bold, colorful works, sought to create an environment that encourages exploration and engagement.
Nebbia’s installation contrasts in color and form with its neighbors. Babylon is a Brutalist construct that blends ancient architectural forms with futuristic design elements. At Coachella, the London architects Brando Posocco and Madhav Kidao created a monumental structure that both serves as a visual landmark on the exterior and a sanctuary of shade and light within the monolithic construction of semicircular and rounded volumes.
The installations are on view at Coachella through April 21.
