Air Bear

Artist Joshua Allen Harris created this plastic bag polar bear over a subway grate on the streets of New York that inflates and deflates with the passing of subterranean trains. It starts as a lifeless pile of plastic then slowly inflates into a whimsical, quivering elated polar before fading back into a pile of plastic bags when the air runs out. The issue of climate change is unmistakable and transparent as you watch the polar bear collapse over and over again in its element. But there is also a whim and fancy to the work that engages the audience in a moment of pure turkish delight as you are confronted with a giggly magestic creature.

This is an example of an experiential work that delicately captures a viewers imagination and holds it for a moment.