Atlantis Rising

ICA Night & Day: A rotating contemporary sculpture program
presents

Atlantis Rising by Ellex Swavoni (American, b. 1992)
November 18, 2021-May 15, 2022
Location: Vine Street, across from University Center, UTC campus

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) presents the temporary installation of Atlantis Rising, a monumental public sculpture on the campus of UTC, made by Atlanta-based contemporary artist Ellex Swavoni. The installation of Atlantis Rising is part of a new ICA program that will showcase rotating contemporary sculpture on campus, called ICA Night & Day, in an effort for the ICA to expand beyond its interior gallery footprint in the Fine Arts Center.

A larger-than-life heroine that appears to emerge confidently from the earth below her, Atlantis Rising commands a physical and psychological presence standing over eight feet tall from waist to crown and constructed from industrial foam, polyurethane, iridescent car paint and illuminated with LED lights.

Atlantis Rising is the artist’s first public artwork which was originally commissioned in 2019 for Atlanta-based arts presenters Dashboard as part of the PRISM exhibition at Woodruff Park. Swavoni is a multidisciplinary contemporary artist who has created several large-scale sculptures on public property in the Atlanta metro region since the 2019 commission, including a 2021 commission titled What Sonia Said for the Beacon Municipal Center in Decatur and a 2021 public artwork One In All on the Atlanta BeltLine. 

Self-termed her “Future Ancient style”, Swavoni’s scientific, space-like, and unburdened sculptures create an imaginative world that preserves Black heroes and history while also building new futures for them. Envisioned and received as a sci-fi or Afro-futurist monument, Atlantis Rising wears her hair in African bantu knots and wears futuristic apparel, head- and eyewear, even though she almost appears ancient and artifact-like in her emergence. Swavoni says that “Atlantis Rising is inspired by the lost city of Atlantis. Her shifting colors and overall design mirror iridescent, deep-sea creatures like rainbow squid and [Marvel] comic book characters like Galactus. The emerging of the robotic giant conveys power, mystery, and loom as are powerful forces at play beneath our feet. Atlantis Rising honors the beauty, genius, and strength of black peoples as an omnipresent force that has always existed.” 

Afrofuturism, in the context of contemporary art, is a cultural aesthetic that explores the intersections of imagination, technology, and the African diaspora or African cultures. Afrofuturism has a rich history since the mid 20th century within fiction writing, history and philosophy, and music; the genre is possibly most publicly well-known today through the rising pop culture status of Marvel’s seminal character and enterprise Black Panther.

UTC Dean Pamela Riggs-Gelasco of the College of Arts and Sciences says that “[CAS] is happy to support the loaned installation of Ellex Swavoni’s sculpture, Atlantis Rising. Students will have a chance to engage with the artist in November and to view the work on central campus.  Chattanooga has a rich diversity of sculpture throughout the city and we are happy to add Atlantis Rising to this mix for the next six months.”

The ICA encourages everyone to visit Atlantis Rising many times during the day and night, so that you can experience her transform. During the day and from day to day, shifting iridescent colors are at play given sunlight conditions. At night, her crown becomes illuminated and the artificial LED glow showers down onto her figure. Respectfully, we encourage to you get up close to her, take selfies and photos, and post your thoughts and reactions to her on social media. We hope you find her presence welcoming and comforting over these next six months.

To share your experience with Atlantis Rising on social media, we encourage you to use: #icaallnightallday #atlantisrisingutc