Kind of like how the Boston Police overreacted when they the public started noticing LED characters and thought they were bombs, police in D.C. also took no chances yesterday, calling in the bomb squad to disarm what turned out to be an art installation commissioned by Greenpeace that “highlights the shared plight of polar bears and humans in the face of global warming.” Street artist Mark Jenkins, known for his public space hacking sculptures, created a series of of homeless bear statues and installed them around the nation’s capital:
“For this series, Greenpeace and Jenkins added polar bear heads and ragged clothing to human figures to convey a sense of displacement and homelessness. To date, four sculptures have been deployed throughout the D.C. area in locations chosen to reach a variety of audiences and address different aspects of the global warming crisis.”
Below are some more of the hobo bear installations and a video of people’s reaction—most weren’t so worried about them being stuffed with bombs.
(Photos: PolarPicPool)
amazing
[...] ‘After the bomb squad was called in on his PETA bear statue, police continue taking an interest in the life-like sculptures of Mark Jenkins. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, police attempted to rescue a female figure laying on top a billboard, only to climb up and discover it was just a mannequin, part of “Sleepers,†the street artist’s outdoor exhibition sponsored by the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. In hopes that Jenkins’ installations might last longer than 20 minutes, the museum promised to warn police before dumping any more bodies in public.’ [...]
[...] bomb squad was called into D.C. yesterday to disarm homeless Polar Bear statues put up by Greenpeace in an effort to protest the BP oil [...]