Wade and Leta Mix Memphis With Marine Life for a Seaport District Installation
A school of sculptures in the Seaport District by Wade and Leta was a marine life-Memphis mash-up. Four artists and fabricators built the project, led by Wade Jeffree and Leta Sobierajski. With eight colors, they painted the 100-plus plywood shapes, which ranged from 5-10 feet tall.
An Adobe Illustrator sketch shows the scale of the eight forms composing Sea Sculptures, a temporary installation by Wade and Leta at Pier 17.
Co-founder Wade Jeffree applies waterproof latex paint to the plywood shapes, which were CNC-cut to resemble algae and seaweed.
Jeffree and wife and co-founder Leta Sobierajski pose in their East Williamsburg studio with pieces of the installation prior to its assembly on-site.
Outside their Brooklyn studio, sculptures are put on a truck for transport to the Seaport District.
Developed in
Rhino with collaborating engineer and fabricator Blacktable Studio, the plywood pieces interlocked via notches to withstand the
up to 70-mph winds
in the waterfront neighborhood.
Part of the Seaport District’s Summer by the Sea art series, Sea Sculptures was intended to weather like the century-old ships docked at nearby Pier 16.
Watch a video of the installation below:
