Location: 7:30 3215', Plaza
The sculpture is a large scale tear gas canister with a flower growing out of it which will light up at night with LEDs. While a tear gas canister is symbolic of war, the powerful and gentle flower counteracts it as a visual metaphor for hope for peace, creation from destruction, life from death, and hope, hope, hope. After a volcanic eruption destroys the land, fauna grows from the blackened soil. The flower symbolizes forgiveness in the place of retribution-- instead of tit-for-tat, hitting back when hit, the flower visually symbolizes that the first step to any kind of reconciliation in a fight is some kind of understanding of the other. There's a long tradition of the power of flowers as a peaceful symbol of resistance, from the sixties to now, and in line with that tradition, this sculpture hopes to be a bright and powerful call for peace in a time fraught with war.