February 2024 brings us a touch more whimsy from Cica Ghost, with the opening of her latest installation, Colourado. Continuing the theme found within several of her more recent installations, Colourado presents a seen designed to raise a smile and allow with child within each of us a little room to come out and play, a sentiment reinforced by the quote accompanying the installation:
Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.
– Terry Pratchett
It’s a sentiment I find increasingly true with the passing years, although I also admit that I try to live by Ashleigh Brilliant’s words as well¹, so whimsy and fun always appeal.
Within the installation, we are presented with a sleepy village with its houses scattered among open spaces and high plateaux and peaks which go some way to explaining Cica’s play on the installation’s name and that of a certain US state (the name also obviously reflecting the setting’s colour palette). And when I say “sleepy”, I’m not writing figuratively; the houses all wear curly night caps of the kind beloved of cartoon, and some have a look about them suggesting they are ready to toddle off to the land of dreams (particularly those with wide-open fronts, even if the large space is really for people to practice balancing on the gently pogoing stools within).
On first encountering them, I thought the denizens of this little hamlet were fruit. I think this was because the first ones I encountered were purple in colour and they put me in mind of the adverts for a certain blackcurrant cordial drink we have in the UK (and which may well be known by other names elsewhere). However, they are in fact potatoes, small and (very) large, and are far from limited to being purple in colour. These happy villagers share there space with a mix of wildlife, all of whom appear to be equally at home in the village and its surroundings, and equally friendly.
As is common with Cica’s installations, there are several interactive elements, so you can sit and chat with a potato, try the stool balancing mentioned above, express your joy through dance under the eaves of house or the balloon-like trees, climb and cross ladders – you can also go for a spin if you wish, although wearing a swimming costume and being prepared to hold you breath are both advisable!
SLurl Details
- Colourado (Mysterious Isle, rated Moderate)
- “The older you get, the more important it is to not act your age.”
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 