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For the 17th iteration of its Love & Design Competition, Times Square Arts partnered with The World Around and tasked designers with ideating an installation that “addresses through its own creation the lifecycle of materials that go into the making of the…spaces…around us.”
Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio, a New York City–based practice, was selected for the project slated for Times Square. The firm’s installation, Love Ever After, will temporarily repurpose metal gabions typically used for oyster reef cages as a dynamic art piece.
Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio teamed up with the Billion Oyster Project for Love Ever After. The nonprofit is dedicated to restoring oyster reefs in the city. Its work includes collecting discarded oyster shells from restaurants and using them to build reefs that clean New York City water. Following its debut in Times Square, the structures used for Love Ever After will return to the waterfront.
Love Ever After will be largely formed by the metal mesh gabion used to store oysters in the water. These volumes will be assembled so as to form “geometries of a heart,” a press release stated. Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio’s vision entails a central heart icon displaying vibrant colors. Since the metal cages will be returned to the water, it’s paramount the paint used to color the art piece be water-safe. The studio is considering using mineral-based paints, including oyster-derived options.
Pernilla Ohrstedt told AN that Love Ever After is about “creating beauty with minimal means.” In an interview she mentioned how she views the work as a “3D low-tech screen” sited in contrast and conversation with to Times Square’s ultra high-tech nature. With Love Ever After, Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio is setting out to make an object that recalls the “hyperbolic” qualities of Times Square but with a lot less material, wiring, and LED.
The design team is still brainstorming how to make Love Ever After interactive for the public. Past installations of the design competition have encouraged visitors to leave a rose behind and engage with mirrors for a perfect selfie moment.
Love Ever After will be installed in Times Square on February 4, 2025.