Keeping Peace | Sydney Festival
Community co-operation is key as visitors come together to help inflate a giant symbol of peace. An inflatable installation that depends on the participation of others to endure, Keeping Peace reminds all of us that the combined efforts of everyone are required to maintain harmony.
What looks at first glance like a bouncy plaything comes to life upon closer inspection. Small hand pumps dangle from white polka dots spread around the sculpture, inviting visitors to step forward and do their part to keep it inflated throughout the festival.
The project was conceived by the New Zealand art and design collective Lgop — “It looks good on paper, let’s build it” — founded by Warwick Bell and Suza Schiele in 2009.
It was first shown in the bayside Auckland suburb of Devonport in 2012, where the message conveyed to kids and adults alike was that keeping the peace involves treating each other gently and with respect at all times.
