If you’re heading to Yas Bay Waterfront this weekend, keep your eyes peeled for two new art installations.
Famed international artists Kaws, real name Brian Donnelly, and Takashi Murakami created the larger-than-life installations.
Visitors to Yas Bay Waterfront will be greeted by an oversized character designed by New York-based Kaws.
Renowned for his interpretations of pop culture icons, including Mickey Mouse and Snoopy, his Yas Bay piece is dubbed Final Days and features the artist's trademark cartoon-like character with crossed-out eyes and a distorted mouth.
Kaws is one of the world's most in demand artists and some of his best pieces include the giant Companion sculpture, which floats in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong.
Out by the water, visitors to Yas Bay can see a glowing 10-metre-tall golden flower sculpture by Murakami, one of Japan’s most prominent contemporary artists.
The Flower Parent and Child installation features Murakami’s signature golden-leaf work and is one of his largest pieces to date. All sides of the sculpture are decorated with flower motifs and the piece is designed to represent hope.
The new works join the ever-growing collection of art at Yas Bay Waterfront.
There are now 12 installations open to the public encompassing murals, sculptures and more.
One of the most popular is The Emerging Man sculpture, which features a giant head coming out of the water. Set by the steps of the waterfront, the concrete artwork is also called The Giant and features an eight-metre-high bronze-coloured head and two oversized hands. Partly submerged in the Arabian Gulf, the sculpture was designed to withstand salt water, high sea temperatures and soaring humidity.
Other pieces come from renowned artists including CoolRainLabo, responsible for the four Astrocat installations located across the destination’s waterfront plaza, and Indian-Canadian street artist Fatspatrol who created the giant mural The Humans near to the Etihad Arena.
Other pieces around Yas Bay include installations from artists Supakitch, MonkeyBird and Beastman, who all transformed substations into colourful canvasses.
