Hydrants
Bettina Hubby
Vinyl decals
Size variable, 24-48 inches tall
Full color, restickable
$180 each
$1,500 for entire series
Since the 1990s Hubby has been photographing and using images of hydrants in her work including drawings, collages, life-sized decals, temporary tattoos, and soft sculpture. In 2014 a large display of the Hydrants decals were on view at LA Mart, in 2015 at l.a.Eyeworks, and in 2017 at Bestor Architecture.
Hubby on the series:
In the early 90s I moved from the South to New York City to attend grad school at SVA (School of Visual Arts). My neighborhood was bleak, frightening, filthy. In the unfriendly atmosphere I sought something positive to focus on. I became obsessed with hydrants, an unlikely source of inspiration and humor. I began seeking out the new forms, photographing them and delighting in them in my travels around the city. They were clean, colorful and personify-able, which in turn helped to make New York more penetrable, engaging and survivable. The focus on these omnipresent objects has endured in my practice as a symbol of finding beauty in the often overlooked.