Forever Bicycles is a new outdoor installation by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. This stunning piece is located along the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail near the Waller Creek Boathouse. It is presented by The Contemporary Austin in collaboration with the Waller Creek Conversancy.

The piece consists of 1,254 metal bicycles welded together to create interesting patterns when viewed from any angle. This 32-foot-high sculpture is hard to miss. I love how it looks blurry from a distance, but then the individual bikes are clearly distinguishable as you move closer. They don’t have seats or handlebars, but they definitely look like bikes.

I was curious about the bicycle wheels. Yes, they really do spin, except for the ones that are attached to the ground.

Forever Bicycles is a super-photogenic piece of public art. It’s big and shiny, with an endless number of patterns. The piece is on long-term loan for at least 18 months, so there’s plenty of time to pay a visit.

© Austin Downtown Diary, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Austin Downtown Diary with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.