Abri n. 177, Umbrella Art Project by OzCollective

The pitter patter of rain on a narrow cobblestone street, glitters, gathers into puddles where the bricks are sinking.  Everyone hides behind their dark umbrellas, scurrying quicker than usual to a warmer, dryer place.
A most impressive installation out of Paris by Oz Collective is a spheric umbrella show. Creators Gaetan Kohler and Alexandre Pachiaudi use Abri N’177 to move with their feelings. The sculpture’s parts find themselves in different positions, whether opened or closed, hence the nickname for this project being Improbable Parasite. In the sunlight, the umbrellas are dark in their black tuxes, giving us a taste of their strong presence and unpredictability.  They can be open and inviting with a soft roundish appearance or sharp with pointy edges keeping us at bay. In the deep of night, it is lit up, the subtle glow puts off the most emollient vibe, revealing a sexy silhouette of the umbrellas’ frames.

A fairly simple design, the materials used here include black umbrellas, aluminum connectors, wood poles, kevlar. It has been described as “Enclosed / confined within this strange sea urchin-umbrella, diverting casual objects, the user is expressing his needs, his view to the world, his spontaneous sensibility.”