project overview
Without Boundaries | Peabody Park
“I chose it because it is something that all people can relate to: we all gaze at the moon, search the stars for answers, stand in awe during an eclipse, gaze at comets. The sky affects us all.”
Tucked against the train trestle on Cooper near Central, three-acre Peabody Park is a sleeper favorite of Midtowners and their children. The park was established in the early 1900s and underwent a renovation around 2000. It contains a popular splash park, playground, historic pavilion, and a pair of intriguing orrery sculptures by Memphis artist Yvonne Bobo, titled Without Boundaries and Around We Go; Our Sky. Memphis Park Services commissioned the Peabody Park arch and sculpture in 2003, and Clark/Dixon Architects consulted with Bobo. Reflecting on the celestial theme of the sculptures, she says, “I chose it because it is something that all people can relate to: we all gaze at the moon, search the stars for answers, stand in awe during an eclipse, gaze at comets. The sky affects us all.” The 17-foot solar system inside the park is crafted solely of stainless steel.
About the Artist
Yvonne Bobo
Yvonne began her career by assisting other artists on public projects around Memphis, TN, but soon began applying for her own grants, which resulted in some of her first commissions as a lead artist. Early public art projects include the Raymond Skinner Center and Peabody Park, followed by The Cancer Survivor Park, Brewster Elementary, LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, and others.
Yvonne’s art focuses on the interaction between invention and nature. Her wind-activated art captures the playful character of the wind and creates a constantly changing experience for the viewer. Although metal is her primary medium, mixed media is her true love, combining glass, Yvonne Bobo steel, wood, and fabrics. She is a designer, engineer, and fabricator.
The artist’s formal education consists of a B.A. in Art History from Boston University, but even more telling in her work is the extensive travel and apprenticeships in various craftsman trades, learning ancient methods of carving, cabinetry, and water-gilding in locales such as Syria, the Azores or Vienna.
