A new 35-foot cloud inflatable is seated at Navy Yard through September
“Seated Little Cloud,” an inflatable art installation, greets visits to the South Philly complex with an air of tranquility.
A new 35-foot art installation named Seated Little Cloud is towering over the Navy Yard, casting a message of “harmony and unity” across the city’s skies throughout September.
The vinyl inflatable is set in a meditative cross-legged position with a jubilant expression on its cloud-shaped face. The content cloud is dressed in blue suspenders, yellow boots, and red shorts that match the color of its rosy cheeks.
On Sept. 5, the not-so-little art piece, created by Los Angeles-based art duo Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III of FriendsWithYou, was positioned at Crescent Park, just inside the Navy Yard’s front gates.
Borkson and Sandoval have showcased their cherub-like installations and “immersive worlds” in cities like New York, Miami, Tokyo, and Hong Kong since their first collaboration in 2002. Their 50-foot steel sculpture, Starchild, was acquired by the City of Miami Beach in 2022 as a permanent installation.
Seated Little Cloud, their first Philly art project, aims to breathe positive energy into the city.
“We’re grateful people are interested in helping us spread this peaceful and loving vibe,” said Borkson. “Our philosophy is that nature is conspiring for you. Nature is always on your side, and everything is there to love and comfort you. And that’s the vibe we’re trying to pass on.”
The Seated Little Cloud has become a hot spot for onlookers, who stop to take selfies or roll out their yoga mats for a brief outdoor session on the Crescent Park lawn. The three-story-high art piece is part of the Navy Yard’s seventh annual public art installation, which was curated by the anonymous Philly arts collective Group X.
The group, consisting of local artists, curators, and organizers, has worked with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. to shape the yearly showcase since 2018.
One Group X representative said the collective has been longing to have Borkson and Sandoval be a part of the series since 2018 because of the “accessibility” of their work, which can be appreciated by everyone and seen from afar.
“Philadelphia is home to thousands of public works of art, so we’re used to seeing really cool and dynamic works in the city. You have to step your game up to get people to come all the way down to the Navy Yard to see something temporary. And I think FriendsWithYou has the kind of concepts that excite people,” a Group X member said.
Designing Seated Little Cloud, Borkson said, took three months. He and Sandoval first developed a 3D model and sent it to a Minnesota-based fabricator to thread the concept together. The inflatable was then shipped in a small crate and delivered to the Navy Yard.
On Sept. 3, with the help of PIDC, Group X spent an afternoon inflating the temporary art piece at Crescent Park, a location that was decided upon after months of deliberation.
The “Seated Little Cloud” is open and free to the public from sunup to sundown every day. The 35-foot inflatable will be on display throughout September at Crescent Park, at Crescent Drive and South Broad Street.