Artwork: Koo Jeon A, *OooOooO*, skatepark installation, Milano, 2020

In 2015 South Korean artist Koo Jeong A was commissioned by the Liverpool Biennial to create an artwork, and the result was a skatepark sculptural installation. In consultation for over a year with skaters, kids at Shewsy Youth Club and locals who helped shape the design process, the site-specific installation was constructed at Everton in Liverpool and named Wheel’s Park. A key feature is that it was painted to glow in the dark, creating an added experiential dimension for skaters, giving them the chance to skate at night with no additional lighting. One skater said skating at night felt “like you are floating.” Jeong A’s work has previously been described as “poetry built with physical materials instead of words”. This was the second skatepark Jeong A created in an ongoing series, the first was OTRO made in rural France in 2008. Part of her inspiration was to create an artwork to reach out to a younger audience who wouldn’t usually engage with a public art installation that combines beauty and practicality. In 2020 Jeong A designed another glow-in-the-dark skatepark, this time indoors, for the Triennale Milano called OooOooO. The installation was part of an exhibition curated by Julia Peyton-Jones and Lorenza Baroncelli titled Year of Play, exploring the importance of physical interaction in an increasingly digital world.