As part of our “Five minutes with…” series we took time out with the artist behind Electric Dandelions – Abram Santa Cruz at Liquid Pxl.
The Electric Dandelions are giant steel and acrylic sculptures that represent a dandelion flower during the day and come to life at night as an endless firework display. These 28ft tall dandelion sculptures have a beautiful and elegant design to them. Their spherical shape is attributed to the geodesic sphere that lies at the heart of the Dandelion. Forty one light tubes crop out from the vertices. At Night, the geometric dandelion sculptures come to life as the LED animations take hold and mesmerize you with their bright and intense endless firework display.
Hi Abram, welcome to River of Light! How do you feel about your artwork featuring in our River of Light Trail this year with Culture Liverpool?
Well, thank you for having me. I feel extremely fortunate to be here in this beautiful city. Liverpool has blown my mind and to be able to exhibit my work here is really quite an honor.
Your artwork, Electric Dandelions is a digital firework display of light, could you tell us a bit about your inspiration behind the installation?
Well, my installations originated at Burning Man in the Nevada Desert in the US and I had made three other projects before this. One of them being a project called the Sea Urchin that used the same light tubes you see on the Electric Dandelions today. There was an issue where people kept trying to grab a hold of the light tubes and several were broke. So I wanted to recycle those tubes into another project and take the light elements out of peoples reach and one day I thought, “Why hadn’t anyone create an endless firework at Burning Man before” and here we are.
Liverpool has a thriving cultural and artistic scene – could you tell us what your favourite thing(s) are about the cultural scene in Liverpool?
I have to say that I really like the restaurant scene here. I really like going out to eat and being in lively atmospheres. There’s so many top notch restaurants and a really nice bar and lounge scene to follow it up with. The architecture around town is amazing. Very vibrant and people are really nice here.
If anyone is thinking about coming down to River of Light but is unsure, what would you say to them to explain why they should come and see your artwork?
I would say that my art is just one of many other amazing art pieces. I’m really happy to see the quality of the work they have brought in. All of the pieces are really cool, and again, set against an amazing cityscape really adds to the visual experience of the show.
Aside from your own creative works, is there any other artwork that you’re particularly keen on seeing?
Well, I met Zara and Renzo in Toronto a few years back at another exhibit and I really enjoyed their work. I like seeing what new projects they come up with and I was excited to see their new giant inflatable art sculptures.
Your artwork involves a live element with young people from Liverpool programming the installation throughout the River of Light event – what made you decide on this format?
That’s right, I’ll be hosting a presentation on November 3rd in front of one of my Electric Dandelions where I’ll allow people to play with an iPad in order to manipulate the lighting on the Project. I decided to do this because I think it’s important to demonstrate to younger people how we create our projects. Hopefully it gives them some inspiration to get into the field of making light art.
What do you enjoy about working with the young people on this project in our communities?
Well, I have a 7 year old son and I bring him into the shop every so often and he gets a kick out of playing with the iPad and changing the colors and patterns on the Dandelions. I like seeing younger peoples faces light up when they get to play with the lights.
What inspired you to get involved in the creative sector and be an artist? Do you face any challenges today and how do you overcome them?
I was a stock broker before I became an artist and I would be sitting at my desk daydreaming about artistic ideas that I wanted to create. And in 2005 I went to Peru and Burning Man back-to-back and I came back a different person. I quit my job and wanted to become an artist.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many challenges I went through and continue to go through them today. I can only tell you that being an artist starts with a giant question mark every day. From, how am I going to make money, to deciding what type of art to make and what ideas to start off with first.
For me personally, my friends and family have been the key to getting me through some tough times. In this particular show, my friend Lolo Garner who’s a Mallorcan artist helped me out tremendously here in Liverpool. He’s been a life saver along with my mom back in the states. She’s an amazing mother who still to this day helps me out in my endeavors. And of course my whole team back home in Los Angeles, they go through great lengths to make sure the job gets done.
Your work is inspirational, and you clearly have a keen interest in supporting the next generation of artists, do you have any advice for anyone wanting to get into the creative sector? Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to get into this industry?
Ultimately, I think as an artist you need to have thick skin and have an undying will to keep pushing forward. You can’t stop, you can’t take a break and you have to treat your passion like a serious business. Being an artist isn’t just about the creating works of art, once you create it, you have to market your work and sell it. I would suggest to any artist to take some business classes as well.
But the key is to not quit, keep trying out new materials and media and put yourself out there to see how the public likes your work. Do something that others aren’t doing. Try to be different.
Where can people go to find out more about your work and where you will be next?
Well, they can check out my website at liquidpxl.com or my instagram page, just search for liquid pxl to see what my team and I are doing.
