An outdoor art installation featuring flowing blue fabric in front of a historic building.

Winged Kelp

Gillian Christy (2025)

Winged Kelp is a sweeping, bright blue seaweed sculpture. The color of the sculpture references the bluebird sky over City Hall. Measuring 12 feet tall, the work asks visitors to consider our environment and the role kelp plays in Maine’s ecosystem. Christy invited the public to help add grommets to the vinyl mesh in spring 2025.

Artist statement

Winged Kelp is a celebration of the vibrant abundance of seaweed found along Maine’s coastline—a natural resource as beautiful as it is vital. This sculpture highlights the essential role seaweed plays in maintaining a healthy ecosystem while evoking our deep connection to ocean life.

Installation date

June 2025

Location

City of Portland City Hall Plaza

Materials

Stainless steel and vinyl mesh

Blue fabric art installation in front of historic city hall building.

Outdoor art installation with blue fabric and metal framework at TEMPOart festival.

Blue fabric sculpture with flowing, dynamic shapes in front of a historic building.

A large blue fabric art installation in a city park, with people interacting around it.

About the artist

Gillian Christy is inspired to create artwork based on the familiar objects that one may view on a daily basis. She uses the term "Connectors" to describe the focus of her work. Using this theme to create sculpture she explores the elements of what connects home with one's everyday surroundings. She was born in Iowa in 1979. She attended the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, IA, receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2002. Christy's work is expertly welded sheet metal that she manipulates into organic and warm pieces of art.

Christy is an award-winning sculptor and has focused her career on creating monumental artwork for the public realm. Through public art, she has been awarded grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, New England Foundation for the Arts, Rhode Island State Council for the Arts, The Rhode Island Foundation, and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. She resides in Boston, MA.

Winged Kelp was made possible through funding from the Andy Warhol Foundation and Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the Nichols Fund, and individual contributions.