Billy & George
2024
Commissioned by the City of Bellingham (WA), Billy & George is the latest public art sculpture installation to be created by Missy and Kim at uckiood. It is installed in Harriet Spanel Park in the York neighborhood of the city.
An eponymous, witty reference to William Bellingham and George Vancouver, these two free-standing characters clearly draw inspiration from the studio’s far-reaching and popular Odd Jelly Out series (2017-19). Reprising the famous Jelly Baby form and whimsical characterization, Billy & George are simplified and huggable humanoid forms with broad smiles and rotund bellies. Posed as if in playful dialogue with each other, they are immediately relatable by virtue of their human attributes and innocent, joyous personalities. While the relative small and large scale of the figures is designed to reflect and attract adults and children, both exploit stance, color, detail and gesture to elicit a sense of curiosity, emotional response and physical interaction. Passersby are invited to enter their intimate space and engage via touch, embrace and imaginary conversation.
Billy measures 50in (H) x 32in (W) x 32in (D) while the smaller George measures 32in (H) x 20in (W) x 20in (D). Each form comprises a hand molded, sealed fiberglass shell with a brilliant white polyester resin decorative skin. Within this white skin are embedded thousands of hand cast, highly-colored, translucent resin cylinders. These cylinders create a dazzling effect - small, three-dimensional ‘pools' of color glow and shimmer in the sunlight. This skin is then sanded multiple times to render an ultra-smooth and highly tactile finish.
