Not every pearl has its oyster, 2025

Heimir Bjorgulfsson

Plummer Park

Not every pearl has its oyster by Los Angeles-based artist Heimir Bjorgulfsson is a ready-made outdoor sculpture in the form of a traffic sign (41 in. x 41 in.) depicting a man riding a donkey and holding a carrot on a stick to lead it. The artwork is installed in the center of Plummer Park.

The sign sculpture sets an unexpected, unrealistic, and quite baffling scenario for viewers to observe and imagine. The intention behind the work is to prompt viewers to reflect on their relationship, expectations, and experiences of the natural vs. man-made environments and how these perceptions are shaped according to our varying cultural identities and personal characteristics. The artist wants the viewers to question their assumption of such a sign subjectively and to appreciate its awkwardness and the possibility that a narrative can take shape. In many ways, it is a tool to make the viewer imagine and put themselves into the shoes of others. The sculpture was exhibited once before, at the 'Joshua Treenial: Event Horizon' in Joshua Tree in 2017.

Heimir Bjorgulfsson received his MFA from the Sandberg Institute in 2003 and his BFA from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2001, both in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His work has been exhibited widely in Europe and the United States in solo and group exhibitions at venues such as The Museum of Fine Art, Houston; Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles; Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik; National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik; Gemeente Museum, The Hague; and the Biennale for Light Art, Ruhr, Germany.

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For questions, contact Marcus Mitchell, Public Art Administrator at (323) 848-3122 or mmitchell@weho.org. For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, please call, TTY: (323) 848-6496. To learn more information about the City of West Hollywood and its arts programs visit www.weho.org/arts.