NEW: City Walk Bham unveils latest sculpture by this local artist and ASFA teacher

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Since its completion before The World Games 2022, City Walk Bham has become known for its family-friendly attractions like the skate park, playground and, of course, The Barkery. But did you know that it’s also home to captivating sculptures created by local artists?

Bham Now met with artist Randy Gachet to learn more about City Walk Bham’s latest sculpture, Hollow Sphere Theory.

City Walk Bham’s newest sculpture

Located on the block between 18th and 19th Streets North in Birmingham, City Walk Bham’s rotating public art exhibit space is already home to work from two local artists:

• Village and The Hope and Dream by Willie Williams, Jr.
• Space in Time and The Grind by Ajene Williams

Alabama School of Fine Arts teacher and Birmingham-Southern grad Randy Gachet is the third local artist to display his work at the space.

Dubbed Hollow Sphere Theory (Elements I & II), the two pieces were created by Gachet for a rotating exhibit at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art’s sculpture garden in 2018.

The twin sculptures were constructed using scrap tire material strategically skewered onto a welded rebar skeleton.

“I’ve always gravitated towards using materials that had a prior life, and when I was working in construction I started noticing tire scraps on the side of the road. Sometimes those scraps would look like the wings of a crow—a creature that has fascinated me for a long time and has been a central theme in many of my pieces.

Eventually, I started picking up those tire scraps and began incorporating them into my work.”

Randy Gachet

Like much of his other work, Gachet’s Hollow Sphere Theory recontextualizes waste materials to help viewers be more mindful of how it impacts the larger world.

The title of the sculpture—Hollow Sphere Theory—references another of Gachet’s influences, Buckminster Fuller’s “Spaceship Earth” concept.

“With all of the things—both good and bad—happening on Earth every day, its important to remember that this all takes place on a comparatively tiny rock moving through the vast emptiness of space. It can make you feel small, but it can also make you feel special and lucky to be here.”

Randy Gachet

Meanwhile, Hollow Sphere Theory‘s shape—a spherical polyhedron—is modeled after the Carbon 60 molecule.

“They first discovered the existence of the Carbon 60 molecule back in the 1980s, and since then some astronomers have found evidence of the molecule in some intergalactic solar gas.

They have some theories that Carbon 60 may be a building block for life.

Carbon is used for life and to make the tire scraps I used, so it made sense to incorporate that into the design.”

Randy Gachet

See Hollow Sphere Theory + more local art at City Walk Bham

Plan your next visit to City Walk Bham and check out Randy Gachet’s Hollow Sphere Theory as well as sculptures by Willie Williams, Jr. and Ajene Williams.

Want to learn more about City Walk Bham’s art program and future opportunities for local artists? Reach out to Toni Dennis, City Walk Bham’s Director of Public Relations and Community Partnerships, by emailing toni.dennis@citywalkbham.com.

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