Immersive art installation in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, includes an adult-sized 5,000 square foot playground
NEW YORK - What happens when you invite a bunch of adults to a massive 5,000 square foot playground?
In Greenpoint, Brooklyn, adults spin on a miniature merry-go-round, jump on a trampoline, and dive into a ball pit.
The temporary installation is the brainchild of Australian-born, Brooklyn-based artist Cj Hendry, and is inspired by the concept of plaid patterns.
"My practice revolves around drawing, like, hyperrealism, so my drawings look like photographs, but another part of my practice is building concepts that are bigger than Ben Hur, and it's just something I've been doing for many years. Every year they get bigger and bigger," Hendry tells CBS2's Hannah Kliger.
The artist is unveiling her new collection of works, plaid illusions, made to look like paint, but actually hand-drawn with pencil.
"The fact that she used colored pencils for everything is very unique and my husband could not believe that it was not paint but pencils," says Floriane Harpster, a fan of the artist.
While some people are bringing their kids to the show, others are spending their time unleashing their own inner child.
"I go down slides and whatnot with my kids sometimes but it's all really fun, so it's fun to do it as an adult sometimes instead of doing it with the kids," says Hollyn Baron who came with friends from Litchfield, Connecticut.
The playground, with its square, colorful edges and white details, is inspired by the plaid patterns of color and negative space.
Some, like Marisa Schmidt, are longtime fans who own some of Hendry's work.
"What I love most about her is how she takes an idea and the way she executes it from the idea to the final product," Schmidt explains.
Adults in plaid socks navigate the maze with the ease and carelessness of childhood. Maybe that inner child isn't so hard to find after all.
The exhibit debuted to the public on Friday, and will be open until April 23.
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