
Workers installed the new “Bounce” sculpture outside the Alachua County Sports & Events Center on Thursday morning. The sculpture, created by Alachua County-based artist Jenn Garrett, is one of three artworks funded by the county’s Art in Public Places program.
The one-ton sculpture is intended to celebrate “the vitality of sportsmanship,” according to a press release. It features basketballs, volleyballs, cheer pompoms and pickleballs, caught in the middle of a bouncing motion. Each ball is three times larger than life.
Garrett said she expects the sculpture to be a photo opportunity for visitors and athletes.
“As an Alachua County resident, it is an honor to celebrate and commemorate the opening of the Sports Event Center with a monumental scale sculpture,” Jenn Garrett said in the press release. “I hope this project will highlight our local vibrant arts community.”
Garrett partnered with local businesses, including Boone Welding, JWM Engineering and Viking Construction to fabricate and install the sculpture.
Garrett’s other works can be found in permanent and private collections throughout the southeast United States. She has filled public art project commissions for Orange County, Stetson University, Mercer University and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Closer to home, the Cade Museum of Invention and Creativity also showcases some of Garrett’s work. The series of 22 sculptures on the path around the museum in Depot Park, and the interactive color-changing sculpture “Nautilus,” inside the museum, are both products of Garrett’s hand.