Firebird over New Holland

The “Firebird descent” installation hovered over the city park designed by West 8 on New Holland Island in St. Petersburg until the end of September. Changing art installations are part of the park concept.

New Holland is a historical landmark not far from the Neva in St. Petersburg. Used and closely guarded by the military for over three centuries, the island was probably present in the consciousness of the city’s inhabitants, but was not accessible until a few years ago. It was not until the end of its military use that a discussion began about the possibility of opening the island to the public. According to a concept developed in 2010 by Roman Abramovich together with Daria Zhukova, the island is to be integrated into the city and bring new life to it. The first step was the “New Ideas for New Holland” competition in 2011, which was won by Work AC from New York. From 2011 to 2013, tests were also carried out to see how the area would be received by the population. A good 700,000 visitors in just under ten months showed how popular the site was and led to the buildings that had been preserved being converted for leisure and culture and a city park being created.

Designed by West 8 from Rotterdam, it opened in summer 2016 and has been freely accessible ever since. The planners’ declared aim was to incorporate art installations in the park. For example, the “Firebird descent” by the Los Angeles-based group “Poetic Kinetics”: referring to the magical firebird of Slavic mythology, which lives with the wind and moves it, the firebird could be experienced there until the end of September. Ten wings made of narrow strips of fabric, measuring around 10,000 square meters in total, billow above the heads of visitors – from the subtle fluffing of the supposed plumage in light breezes to the violent ups and downs of the entire installation in strong gusts. Everyone is now eagerly waiting to see what will follow the firebird.