Photo by Jonathan Moore
Wave Staff Report
WEST HOLLYWOOD — The city has announced the installation of “Not every pearl has its oyster,” a temporary public artwork by artist Heimir Bjorgulfsson, as part of its Art on the Outside program at Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd. The art installation will remain on view through March 2026.
“Not every pearl has its oyster” is a ready-made outdoor sculpture in the form of a traffic sign depicting a man riding a donkey and holding a carrot on a stick to lead it. The work is installed in the center of Plummer Park, between Fiesta Hall and Long Hall.
The sign sculpture sets an unexpected, unrealistic and quite baffling scenario for viewers to observe and imagine. The intention behind the work is to prompt viewers to reflect on their relationship, expectations, and experiences of the natural vs. man-made environments and how those perceptions are shaped according to varying cultural identities and personal characteristics.
The artist wants the viewers to question their assumption of such a sign subjectively and to appreciate its awkwardness and the possibility that a narrative can take shape. In many ways, it is a tool to make the viewer imagine and put themselves into the shoes of others. The sculpture was exhibited once before, at the Joshua Treenial: Event Horizon in Joshua Tree in 2017.
Bjorgulfsson’s work has been exhibited widely in Europe and the United States in solo and group exhibitions at venues such as the Houston Museum of Fine Art, Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Reykjavik Art Museum, National Gallery of Iceland, Gemeente Museum, The Hague; and the Biennale for Light Art, Ruhr, Germany.
The Art on the Outside Program is the city’s temporary art program that installs rotating artworks throughout the city. The artworks can include sculpture, murals, digital art and other outdoor works.
Most exhibitions remain on display between six months and three years. All projects are subject to the Art on the Outside Program review and approval process through the city’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission.
The program is funded through the Public Beautification & Art Fund.
The city’s Arts Division delivers a broad array of arts programs including Art on the Outside (temporary public art), arts grants, the city poet and drag laureates, free theatre in the parks, library exhibits, summer and winter sounds concert series, Urban Art (permanent public art), WeHo Pride Arts Festival, and WeHo Reads.
For more information about city arts programming, visit www.weho.org/arts.
