the balanghai

the balanghai is today's featured cityshot at ClickTheCity

THE boat-like structure cuts a majestic figure on the water’s surface. Its three sails—massive triangular forms of steel and fiberglass in hues of yellow and orange—sway ever so slightly with the breeze. As the wind blows, two oar-like shapes at the tips of each sail dip into the pool, seeming to propel the entire vessel to some unknown destination. But there it stays, a vision that is fixed yet moving at the same time.

This is the Balanghai, the “crown jewel” of the Bonifacio Art Foundation Inc.’s public art collection. Conceptualized and designed by Gerry Leonardo, the sculpture, with a height of approximately nine meters and a length of eight meters, is named after the native boat balanghay which supposedly carried the first settlers to Philippine shores.

Named the grand prize winner in BAFI’s first public art competition held in 1997, Leonardo’s work recently sailed to its permanent location at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Metro Manila, capping years of meticulous construction.

-taken from www.artscentralmanila.com