An Old Warehouse at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard is Home To a Massive Sea Monster

'And then, slowly uncoiling their tentacles, they all began moving towards him - creeping at first deliberately, and making a soft purring sound to each other' - H.G. Wells, The Sea Raiders

Filthy Luker Pedro Estrellas Sea Monsters HERE Philadelphia

 

An old, dilapidated warehouse at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard on the Delaware River is now home to a gigantic purple octopus. Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas’s inflatable monster curls its way through the building, it’s many tentacles poking from the windrows and roof. Called Sea Monsters HERE, produced in partnership with Philadelphia artists Group X, the artwork adds a lively new twist to the old. It’s fun, of course, but there’s also an appeal to the low self. It’s bouncy, infantile and silly. But then as you walk away convinced the monster is a mild distraction of no value, you turn around just in case an eye sparkles at a window, or the tentacles are reaching out towards you. The one disappointment is that the octopus is not made of stone and lacquered like a Jeff Koons shiny ballon dog. A bit of permanence and weight would only add joy and interest to this mash-up of the old and new.

As for those old parts, the US Navy moved into the Yard in 1876 and left for good 1996. At its peak in World War 2, the Yard employed more than 40,000 people. They hammered out 53 dull, grey, box-fresh warships and repaired 1,218 more. The Blue Ridge was the last new ship to be built at the Yard in 1970. The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard is now home to offices and big spaces for hire. The huge colourful sea monster seems to pull the place together. Those warships were not the last of the Yard’s killing machines. An we’re gonna need a bigger inflatable boat to despatch this one…

 

Filthy Luker Pedro Estrellas Sea Monsters HERE Philadelphia

Filthy Luker Pedro Estrellas Sea Monsters HERE Philadelphia Filthy Luker Pedro Estrellas Sea Monsters HERE Philadelphia
Filthy Luker Pedro Estrellas Sea Monsters HERE Philadelphia Filthy Luker Pedro Estrellas Sea Monsters HERE Philadelphia
Filthy Luker Pedro Estrellas Sea Monsters HERE Philadelphia

Filthy Luker Pedro Estrellas Sea Monsters HERE Philadelphia

 

See more of Luker and Estrellas work on Instagramwww.designsinair.com and www.filthyluker.co.uk.

Would you like to support Flashbak?

Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.