Palm 3 World Station

Palm 3 World Station. 20 x 80 x 150 feet. Wood, metal, found materials and objects, light, smoke, live plants. photo: Heinz Kobernik

Simón Vega’s Third World space station is the largest sculpture in his Tropical Space Proyectos series commenting on the effects of the Cold War in Central America through his ironic and humorous views on the Space Race. Palm-3 World Station represents his interest in catastrophe-escaping space vehicles as well as his concern about who will be left behind. The sculpture, based on the Soviet space station Mir, is 150 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 50 feet tall. It has 30 modules containing all the trappings of shanty towns in his native El Salvador: mini marts, pupuserias, apartments with TVs left on, clothing lines, flickering lights, hissing gas lines, sirens, and people in “happy poverty.” These materials and motifs draw a sharp contrast to the technology of space and punctuate the economic inequality and effects of a polarized society.

    Palm 3 WS is closely based on the Soviet Space Program s MIR Space Station and its seven original modules (below):

photo: Goldenvoice.

  MIR is a complex Russian word that can be translated as "world", "peace" and "village". To create a global peace village addresses my concerns with futurism, new communities and the contemporary concept of utopia|dystopia in a colorful, shabby and tropical way, inspired in Centralamerican informal housing, street markets and shantytowns.

    Afternoon in the Valley of Coachella. Interior and exterior light by Felix Lighting.

The process for building this 150 feet long and 40 feet high sculpture took over 6 months in research, design and planning, while the construction itself was carried out in approximately 4 months with over 10 workers at all times and a total crew of over 40 construction workers and specialists.

  The huge amount of materials needed for this monumental sculpture were mostly gathered from junkyards in the Coachella Valley as well as new and aged corrugated metal sheets. To furnish the tienda, the Mini Super and the corner hardware store specific materials were shipped from El Salvador,

    Above; original concept drawink. Ink on Mylar.2017

    Infrarred photos;:@watcharaphoto

    All photography Heinz Kobernik, except where noted.

photo; Goldenvoice