Artist Bruce Munro turns California meadow into mesmerizing ‘Field of Light’
Wander around a meadow in Paso Robles after dark and you’ll find a field of 58,000 “flowers” undulating with colored lights covering 15 rolling acres of land. Comparisons to Southern California’s recent superbloom have been made, except these flowers are solar-powered, fiber-optic spheres on stems.
“Field of Light at Sensorio,” which went live May 19, is the work of British light installation artist Bruce Munro, who created similar projects at Uluru in Australia. It’s the largest field by the artist to date.
Munro said in a recent interview via Skype that the Sensorio Field is “very different from Uluru. It’s a rolling meadow outside Paso Robles.”
Uluru, the sacred place also known as Ayer’s Rock in Australia’s Northern Territory, first inspired his vision to create a field of light. That field opened in 2016 as a temporary exhibit and has been extended to run through Dec. 31, 2020.
Sensorio is the brain child of Ken and Bobbi Hunter. Similar to Munro, who waited more than 20 years to realize his Field of Light in Uluru, Ken Hunter said he “carried the idea for more than 30 years” after a visit to the Butchart Garden in Victoria, B.C., Canada.
His dream was to create an “inspiring entertainment garden” that would serve as a “playground for the mind.” His wife, Bobbi, said they contacted Munro after seeing his “Field of Light” in Uluru. Munro saw the landscape at Sensorio and said it was perfect for such a project.
“This one particular idea is dictated by the land and nature, and working cohesively with nature -- in this day and age, people really like that,” said Bobbi Hunter.
Visitors can walk through the field, which will be displayed Wednesdays through Sundays through Jan. 5. Opening times vary by season, and storms may shut the installation.
Tickets cost $27 to $30 for adults, $9 to $19 for children. You can buy VIP tickets that include access to a private terrace plus a picnic dinner for $125 (prices exclude tax and fees).
Info: “Field of Light at Sensorio,” 4380 Highway 46 East, Paso Robles, (805) 226-4287
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