Carlsbad Art and Culture

On Memorial Day weekend, the Carlsbad Village woke up to an eerie surprise attached to a construction perimeter fence on Carlsbad Village Drive.

The silhouette of a life-sized shark appears through the blue tarp as the sun sinks behind the fence. A scared surfer half submerged behind the blue fence looks over his shoulder as an advancing fin sticks up in the air above the top of the fence.

This is the work of resident artist Bryan Snyder, a Village artist and community advocate who has been implementing public art projects in the local streets for over a decade. His newest installation transformed an ordinary fence into a something worth looking at.

“These construction tarps are all over the Village right now, but what made this one stand out was the way it glowed as the sun dropped behind it,” Snyder said. “It inspired me to add some creativity to the streets, something Carlsbad is becoming known for more and more each day.”

Snyder first set out to use this installation as a way to bring attention to the increasing amounts of shark attacks across the globe, but online chatter quickly developed a new commentary associating the shark with development and the surfer representing a threatened home break.

“My initial intent was not totally based on local development, but it being on a construction fence within a Village that is seeing large-scale developments on every corner, there is an obvious connection,” Snyder said. “My art has always reflected the local voice and the changing Village is a hot topic right now.”

A social commentary is not always paramount for Snyder. For many years, Snyder has implemented numerous murals and installations with the goal of creating a relationship between art and the surrounding environment.

“This installation relied heavily on nature, specifically the weather, Snyder said. “For the optimal viewing experience, the sky had to be cloudless just before sunset. This allowed the glowing fence to bring the shark silhouette to life.”

Snyder looks forward to the reaction from the community and welcomes all interpretations. He invites the community to visit his installation at different times of the day to observe how the sun, and the time of day, plays an important role in the viewing experience.