On Labor Day we attended a wedding in Seattle at the Olympic Sculpture Park. The reception was held inside a huge room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the art and natural scenery.

Suspended from the high ceiling were two amazing and interactive sculptures entitled Capula XVI and Capula XVII by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes. Woven strings of vinyl stretch taut over angular and round white metal, creating the look of a bird cage mixed with a 1970’s hanging basket chair. The vinyl makes the piece pliable and inviting.

Initially guests eyed the sculptures inquisitively as they entered the room, circling them and gently poking at them as though they were alien ships, watching other guests gingerly slip inside their round opening and settle into the anti-gravity center. Once inside it felt pleasant to be floating and gently swaying, the weight of your body pressing into the vinyl like a reclining beach chair.

As the room grew darker the shadows of the piece flattened out and stretched across the floor. People sprawled out inside, their backs leaning on the airy walls. As one person climbed out another would notice the free spot and scramble to kick their shoes off and enter. The sculptures create a sense of privacy within their room-like boundaries but really the materials are equal part to the openness between them.

It was by far the most enjoyable and interactive art I’ve ever encountered.

I took the photos in, around, and under the Capulas with my husband and dear friends Mike and Hannah (except for the one with me in it in the turquoise dress, which was taken by Mike). Read this great interview with Reyes.