Visitors to downtown Lakeland will soon see 41 pieces of art made by wrapping clear packing tape around live models.
- New art exhibit to open in downtown Lakeland
- Artists used 700 rolls of tape to create the statues
The “Clearly People” art exhibition will be on display starting January 20.
Clearly People is the work of artist David Collins and Meredith Pope. They used 700 rolls of tape in the process.
"I used live models because dead ones are sort of non-cooperative,” said David Collins, with a chuckle.
After layers of tape were wrapped around the model, it was cut off and the exoskeleton was taped back together. In one case, there is a pregnant woman smoking with her unborn baby smoking inside her.
"So the idea of putting a baby in there smoking while the mother smokes is just saying 'this is reality,'” said Collins.
Collins and Pope wrapped the packing table around the models' faces as part of the process. One of the models started to panic during the process and Collins worked hard to calm her down.
"She was just pulling at the mask and I just kind of put my arms around and said calm down,” said Collins.
"It was really interesting to see how people reacted to being taped up,” said photographer David Dickey. He made a time-lapse video of the process and has also taken artsy pictures of the pieces that he will sell.
"The way that I'm lighting them, sometimes they'll be creepy,” said Dickey. “Sometimes they will be not as they are sitting out in the sunlight."
There will be a free reception of Dickey’s photographs, and then a Google Maps tour of the outdoor locations for the art, on January 20 starting at 7 p.m.
"I just want them to enjoy them,” said Collins about the exhibit.
The exhibit is sponsored by Lakeland TV, The Lakeland Downtown Development Authority, Spring Obsession and Broadway Real Estate Services.