LAKELAND, FL –Two Lakeland artists will debut their latest Downtown Lakeland public art installation on Jan. 20, 7-9 p.m. during an exhibition reception at LKLD TV, located at 202 N. Massachusetts Ave.
“Clearly People: Exoskeleton Encounters” is a sculptural art exhibition devoted to the human figure. It is located in Munn Park and along Kentucky Avenue.
The free reception will include a photography exhibit by David Dickey Jr., which contains about 30 photographs of the sculptures. The reception also will feature a lecture by David Collins at 7:30 p.m., followed by a question and answer period with Collins, Meredith Pope, Dickey and the models who were cast to create the sculptures.
“Clearly People” depicts figures made from multiple coats of packaging tape to create clear exoskeletons. The figures and scenes are designed to entertain, cause interaction and provoke thought, said art activist Collins, who created the exhibition with Pope. It includes 22 scenes containing 28 adult figures, seven swans, two fairies, two unborn babies, a mermaid, an alien and an 8 ft. tube of paint.
“My inspiration for the show is my continuing fascination for ways to engage the people of Lakeland and public art,” Collins said.
He has become known locally for his pop-up art murals at the Lakeland Area Mass Transit Citrus Connection Terminal, as well as painting more than 50 light poles in downtown Lakeland, painting tree stumps that were scheduled for removal, and creating murals on vacant storefront windows– typically without permission.
In January 2016, Collins painted a giraffe measuring 20 feet tall and a menagerie on a stretch-wrapped tree in Munn Park.
“Clearly People” will remain on exhibit through July 21. A Google walking map of the installations is available.
The public art exhibition is sponsored and funded by the following:
• Lkld TV
• The Lakeland Downtown Development Authority
• Spring Obsession Garden & Art Event
• Broadway Real Estate Services and NOBAY
About David Collins
Collins is a self-taught artist who started his art education in 2005. He calls Lakeland home and spends his winters here. He spends summers in Black Mountain, North Carolina where he works on plein air painting.
About Meredith Pope
Pope is from Lakeland and studied art at Harrison School for the Arts, Polk State College and the University of South Florida, where she majored in sculpture. Her work has won awards from the Ridge Art Association in Winter Haven, and Arts on the Park in Lakeland. She has painted and/or refurbished swan statues that are part of the city’s “Swansation” exhibition. For the past several years, she has focused her creative efforts on making costumes for local events.
About David Dickey Jr.
Dickey is a freelance photographer born and raised in Lakeland. He’s known for documenting local public events, but professionally leans toward architectural photography and portraiture.