{"id":2045,"date":"2025-09-11T07:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=2045"},"modified":"2025-09-11T07:10:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T14:10:00","slug":"giant-inflatable-sculptures-by-steve-messam-reimagine-everyday-environments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=2045","title":{"rendered":"Giant Inflatable Sculptures by Steve Messam Reimagine Everyday Environments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-1.jpg\" alt=\"Giant Inflatable Sculptures by Steve Messam Reimagine Everyday Environments\" \/><\/p>\n<p>From bubble-like bulges amid the arches of London\u2019s iconic Old Billingsgate to a 15-meter-tall red droplet frozen in the center of a disused swimming pool in Aberdeen, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stevemessam.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steve Messam<\/a> explores scale, form, and our experiences of the built environment in large-scale installations.<\/p>\n<p>Messam is known for his large-scale <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/tags\/steve-messam\">inflatable works<\/a> that reinterpret architecture and explore human influence over the landscape. Often, he fills apertures like arcades or underpasses with forms that balloon and billow, drawing attention to structural forms while considering their fundamental function as places to enter or move through.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-11.jpg\" alt=\"a series of large, white, bulbous, inflatable shapes designed by Steve Messam that stick out of an arched arcade on the first level of a brick building\" class=\"wp-image-461920\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cFacade\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In \u201cAccommodation:Occupation,\u201d Messam delves into the history of 19th-century infrastructure in the U.K. through an exploration of what are known as accommodation and occupation bridges\u2014railroad crossings designed for rural areas that provided a tunnel beneath, so that farmers could still access their land on the other side of the tracks. Some of these historic bridges still exist, often on private land, such as two in County Durham along the former route of the Stockton &amp; Darlington Railway.<\/p>\n<p>For \u201cBelow,\u201d which Messam situated under a bridge in Tianfu Art Park in Chengdu, China, the site\u2019s use as a thoroughfare is retained by creating two symmetric forms with a gap between them, which people can walk through while immersing themselves in the installation.<\/p>\n<p>Whether popcorn-like, spiked, bubbling, or cascading, Messam\u2019s playful interventions prompt us to view our surroundings with renewed attention. Explore even more on the artist\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stevemessam.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rougeit\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-7.jpg\" alt=\"a large-scale inflatable sculpture installation by Steve Messam of two symmetrical, red, spiked forms wedged under a bridge\" class=\"wp-image-461916\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cBelow\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-8.jpeg\" alt=\"a side view of a series of large, white, bulbous, inflatable shapes designed by Steve Messam that stick out of an arched arcade on the first level of a brick building\" class=\"wp-image-461917\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cFacade\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-12.jpg\" alt=\"a series of large, yellow, inflatable shapes designed by Steve Messam stick out of apertures in the side of a building\" class=\"wp-image-461921\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cPackaged\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2997\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-4.jpg\" alt=\"a view looking up at a large-scale inflatable sculpture by Steve Messam of an amorphous, pink form that appears to drape over a balcony\" class=\"wp-image-461913\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cCascade\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-3.jpg\" alt=\"a large-scale installation by Steve Messam under an old stone bridge of numerous pastel-colored, bulbous forms stuck under an archway\" class=\"wp-image-461912\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cAccommodation:Occupation\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-2.jpg\" alt=\"a large-scale installation by Steve Messam under an old stone bridge of a blue, spiked form that appears wedged in the archway under the bridge\" class=\"wp-image-461911\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cAccommodation:Occupation\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-5.jpg\" alt=\"an aerial view of a large-scale inflatable sculpture installation by Steve Messam of two symmetrical, red, spiked forms wedged under a bridge\" class=\"wp-image-461914\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cBelow\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-6.jpg\" alt=\"a woman walks in front of a large-scale inflatable sculpture installation by Steve Messam of ared, spiked form wedged under a bridge\" class=\"wp-image-461915\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cBelow\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2997\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/messam-9.jpg\" alt=\"a side view of a series of large, yellow, inflatable shapes designed by Steve Messam stick out of apertures in the side of a building\" class=\"wp-image-461918\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cPackaged\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/members\">Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/2025\/09\/steve-messam-inflatable-sculptures-installations-architecture\/\">Giant Inflatable Sculptures by Steve Messam Reimagine Everyday Environments<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/\">Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From bubble-like bulges amid the arches of London\u2019s iconic Old Billingsgate to a 15-meter-tall red droplet frozen in the center of a disused swimming pool in Aberdeen, Steve Messam explores&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}