Written Concept
Two trees. Oak and Cedar. Gainesville and Mejdlaya. Growing yet eternal. A lasting friendship.
Letter to the Mayor
Dear Mayor Lauren Poe,
My name is Terrence Ho. I’m an 8th grade student at P.K. Yonge, and I am designing a work of installation art to represent the friendship between Gainesville and Mejdlaya.
I’d like to propose large twin sculptures, approximately seven feet high, seven feet wide, and two feet deep – just taller than a human being to inspire awe while remaining approachable. These wooden sculpture, in the form of a cedar tree (to represent Mejdlaya) and an oak tree (to represent Gainesville), would embody the growing relationship between Medjlaya and Gainesville that began in 2015. Please see the attached drawings for more detail. The sculpture would be fashioned from pressure treated live oak/pine or cedar to evoke the native flora of Gainesville/Mejdlaya while also being strong and resistant to weather.
Ideally, the sculptures would be installed prominently in both Gainesville and Mejdlaya. The Sister Cities Pavilion in front of City Hall in Gainesville would be a perfect location. The proposed location in Mejdlaya is yet to be determined. Please see the attached visualizations.
I hope my artwork will inspire citizens of Gainesville to learn about Mejdlaya and Lebanon. I hope that it will be a physical reminder of our friends in other countries. When someone looks at it, I hope they think about how big the world is, and how we have friends on the other side of the world that want to meet us and share their culture with us. It will bring our cities closer together, it will celebrate our friendship, and it will make the world at once more wondrous and more accessible to the people of Mejdlaya and Gainesville.
Thank you for your consideration,
Terrence Ho
Technical Sketch
Gainesville Installation Views
Mejdlaya Installation Views
3D Model
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Budget and Materials List
Sister Cities of Gainesville, FL 