Jellyfish at Playland

Piece by Tatijana Kunst

If you ever swim in the Atlantic Ocean as I do, you may relate to the slippery sensation of a jellyfish lodging itself between you and your bathing suit. Artist Tatjana Kunst remembers well the bugger that stung her across her midriff when she was six years old and swimming in the Mediterranean. Rather than swear off jellyfish for life, she has created a sea of 200 of them made out of ceramic material and macrame yarn, and has installed them in a space adjacent to the boardwalk at Rye Playland. The installation is the winning entry in an Art on the Beach contest in which 54 regional artists vied to create a work of art befitting the site-specific location. The project is a collaboration between ArtsWestchester, Westchester County Government, and Westchester Park Foundation. As the winner, Tatjana will receive a $5,000 honorarium. Her installation will be exhibited at Playland through September. County Executive George Latimer sees this as an opportunity to shout out about our region’s ecology and its special places like Playland and the Long Island Sound. The Westchester Parks Foundation sees it as a good fit for parks and arts to be on the same, excuse the pun, wavelength. As for us culture buffs, it’s just the power of the arts doing what it does. If only we could bottle it…