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'Floating Earth' Sculpture Deflates And Sinks Due To Bad Weather—And It's Truly A Cringey Metaphor

Sheila Venturini
Dec. 07, 2021
@quayscultureuk/Instagram

An Earth sculpture sank and the irony isn't lost on us.

The Floating Earth sculpture on display in Salford Quays, England sank after the exhibit endured bad weather conditions.

The exhibit was on display as part of the Lightwaves 2021 festival in Salford Quays, England. The sculpture was called the "Floating Earth", as it was comprised of a large globe, measuring almost 33 feet tall.

The globe featured an internal LED lighting system that would allow it to be illuminated as part of the Lightwaves festival.

The exhibit showcased the globe resting on a water surface, giving off the impression that the globe was suspended in air, or "floating."

According to Floating Earth creator, Luke Jerram, the Floating Earth was a piece intended to highlight environmental and climate issues and leave viewers with a "renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment."

Ironically enough, the exhibit had to be taken down due to bad weather conditions.

Salford Quays was hit suddenly with high winds, which posed a danger to the highly political art exhibit and led to the globe not "starting up" and subsequently sinking into the water.

Thus, exhibit organizers, Quays Culture, had to take the exhibit down and deflate the globe, leaving it resting in the Manchester Ship Canal near the Lowry Arts Centre.

Quays Culture made a post on their Instagram announcing the cancelation of the exhibit.

They wrote:

“Due to unexpected weather conditions here at The Quays, we’ve had to remove power to Floating Earth and close it temporarily. Please check back for an update about LIghtwaves tonight. We're really sorry for any disappointment."

The irony of an environmentalist art exhibit of the Earth literally sinking due to bad weather conditions is not lost on social media users, who are calling the incident "on the nose" and "a visualization of climate change."












Quays Culture announced while the Floating Earth exhibit had to be taken down for safety purposes, the rest of the Lightwaves 2021 festival will continue as planned.