A new art installation inspired by an asteroid that struck Earth millions of years ago sits at the Alexandria waterfront. Interstellar Influencer (Make an Impact) is the sixth temporary art installation displayed at Waterfront Park as part of the city’s Site See: New Views in Old Town series.
Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang of Brooklyn-based StudioKCA used metal, water, and light to imitate the shape and appearance of an asteroid.
“We want this representation of the asteroid and its impact to raise awareness of the fragility of our shared existence on this planet and the extraordinary (and sometime extraterrestrial) foundation of our modern cities and waterways,” said Chang.
The piece is a 1:2,000-scale representation of the asteroid that hit Earth about 35 million years ago, leaving behind a crater 278,871 feet (85 kilometers) wide and 4,921 feet (1.5 kilometers) deep — the beginnings of what is now the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
An interior lighting system illuminates the work’s panels with a warm orange glow at night, and water misters installed throughout the piece give it the appearance that it’s smoking.
“We all share this one planet and live within the history of events that shaped it. Sometimes you have to look at it from the point of view of an asteroid hurtling through space 35,000,000 years ago to appreciate just how incredible it is we’re here at all,” said Klimoski.
The Interstellar Influencer (Make an Impact) installation opened in Waterfront Park in late March and will be on view until November.
Alexandria’s Office of the Arts hosts the Site See: New Views in Old Town series with annual rotating installations. Previous installations in this series include last year’s Two Boxes of Oranges and Admonia Jackson and 2022’s I Love You sign.
Waterfront Park: 1A Prince St. and 1 King St., Alexandria
Feature image by Carol Jean Stalun Photography, courtesy Visit Alexandria
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