Entwined’s forest of illuminated color has lit up Peacock Meadow in Golden Gate Park every winter since 2020, immersing park visitors in a realm of art, technology, and nature. As of 2022, the installation now features twice a week performances and other engaging art activations.

Dates

TBD

About

Entwined Meadow’s dazzling forest of light first welcomed park goers as a safe and joyful outdoor destination in 2020 and quickly became an iconic attraction for Bay Area residents and tourists alike. This immersive experience was designed specifically for Peacock Meadow by San Francisco artist Charles Gadeken. The arrangement in the installation creates twisting paths through large flowering clusters, trees to sit under, and shifting lights and color. 

New this Year

The 2022-23 season of Entwined introduced new sculptural artworks including a “fallen tree”, which served as a seating area, “sapling” trees with “hidden world tree knots” that featured surprise miniature artworks by local artists, and greater interactivity. These additions built upon new interactive elements and an expanded layout that debuted in 2021. 

Charles Gadeken is an award-winning industrial artist working in the creative field for over 25 years, whose monumental interactive public artworks reimagine the world post-nature. Artwork commissions include Black Rock Arts Foundation, City of San Francisco, Insomniac Events, Coachella, Absolut Vodka, City of Palo Alto, City of Calabasas, City of Los Altos, Stanford University, and more. Many of Charles’ works have been exhibited internationally.

Focused on engaging the imagination in the objects created and the method of their creation, Charles dedicates his work to increasing artistic community and public awareness of art. Many pieces are interactive, encouraging spectators to become participants in the artistic experience. In addition to making art, his artistic practice encourages others to do so and has inspired hundreds of people to participate in art-making for multiple projects. Charles also aims to create public art that contributes to and celebrates the community and increases public interest and connection to the place and region.

Entwined Meadow is an installation by Charles Gadeken created at The Box Shop, a collaborative industrial arts maker space and affordable studios in Bayview-Hunters Point in San Francisco.

The exhibit consists of large-scale metal sculpted trees and ‘flower-like’ shrubs illuminating and radiating ever-changing colors. The various-sized flora range from 3-20 feet in height and incorporate thousands of LEDs to create a dazzling experience.

The sculptures are also interactive, allowing participants to change lighting effects through QR codes. This allows the user to change the sculpture’s color, hue, and lighting sequence for 1-2 minutes.

The project is made possible through a partnership between San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department and the San Francisco Parks Alliance, originally installed in 2020 for the Park’s 150th Anniversary.

Artwork concept: The site-specific arrangement of elements in the installation creates paths to be explored, trees to sit under, and constantly changing vistas of light and magic. The magical topography of light and color results in a multidimensional visual experience through coordinated programming across all the sculptural elements. Complex lighting patterns emerge and dissolve in an ever-changing experience, building a sense of awe, encouraging us to engage with the location, and thus inspiring community.

Creating Entwined Meadow: The installation involves many to make the project possible, the artist, engineers, programmers, designers, volunteers, and more. And it requires the right tools, equipment, and space to fabricate and build. The artwork was made locally at The Box Shop in the Bayview-Hunter’s Point neighborhood of San Francisco. The Box Shop, a one-of-a-kind, collaborative industrial arts maker space and studios, is working to preserve and ‘save’ their space – you can help! Learn more about The Box Shop and its campaign to save the space and the community it serves.

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