Client: The City of Virginia Beach Cultural Affairs Department

Location: Virginia Beach, VA, United States

Completion date: 2020

Artwork budget: $45,000

Project Team

Project Lead

Alexa Gonzalez

Hive Public Space

Art Installation

Charlie Osorio

Hive Public Space

Mural Artist

Navid Rahman

@navidruins

Mural Artist

Kyle Harrel

@hmbl_

Overview

Barreled celebrates Virginia Beach’s surfing culture. It takes inspiration from one of the most sought out and short-lived experiences in surfing, riding through the barrel of a wave.

This installation captures a moment in time within the barrel, and allows the viewers to inhabit and move through the experience. The installation takes place in the form of four acrylic arches that mimic the barrel. The structure is constructed out of a tubular steel system and acrylic panels that represent the ocean’s oscillating balance of power and fragility. Each arch unfolds from wall to ceiling and ending with a seating component that encourages human interactions perfectly spaced at 6′ apart to respond to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic.

Goals

The mail goal of this placemaking project was to transform and activate this space into one where memories and connections take place. An interactive piece that is accessible and safe to interact even during the global pandemic. Each steel "wave" in Barreled is also spaced out perfectly for a socially distanced selfie opportunity.

Process

This project was introduced as a way to activate an underutilized space which was attracting negative behavior. The original project's scope did not include the Mural. Hive Public Space knew it was a great opportunity to add to the visual impact and root the project with the local businesses community. Thanks to the generous donations of the neighborhood's business owners, the installation is now accompanied by “Broken Current," a collaboration with recognizable local artists Navid Rahman and Kyle Harrel, which illustrates powerful rip currents and tidal currents created by ocean waves.