Dockside Dazzle to unveil 9,000-pound sculpture, highlight local artists
The August 7 event will spotlight sculpture “Farmer the Rigger,” and unite Bay Area artists
(Times-Herald Online by Sarah Rodriguez)
The Mare Island Company is set to host its inaugural “Dockside Dazzle,” featuring live painting exhibitions and the unveiling of Zulu Heru’s afrocentric sculpture, “Farmer the Rigger.” The Aug. 7 event also includes live music by Shawn Thwaites, plus food and drinks from co-host Redwood Empire Whiskey Bar.
Artist Zulu Heru, with his 9,000-pound sculpture, intersects blue-collar trades, craftsmanship, and ancestry. The piece’s placement is just as intentional as its build, located at Dry Dock No. 1 — the first established dry dock on the West Coast and, according to Heru, its oldest importing dock.
The 20-foot sculpture demonstrates the artist’s drastic shift from his beginnings as a young farmer in Richmond, Va., to his current career as a certified rigger and crane operator based in San Francisco. Like most of his work, the piece, made entirely from reclaimed industrial metal, also draws inspiration from African masks in its resemblance.
Continue reading here.
With the helping hands of Redwood Empire’s general manager Kunjan Joshi, and crew member Maurice ‘Motown’ Hightower, artist Zulu Heru had the massive metal sculpture Farmer the Rigger installed on the Mare Island waterfront as part of the ‘Artyard’ sculpture exhibit. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)