A larger-than-life art installation has landed at Bicester Village

Look up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a new supersized art installation that’s just descended on the roofs of the boutiques at Bicester Village, founding outpost of The Bicester Collection. Monikered Encounters and created by English artist Steve Messam, this series of inflatables in an eye-popping rainbow of colours and tactile shapes integrated into the village’s buildings will bring fun and whimsy to this Oxfordshire luxury institution until the end of June.

Based in rural County Durham, North East England, Messam’s works are recognised around the world. He was awarded Visual Artist of the Year 2021 at the Newcastle Journal Culture Awards and was shortlisted for the 2022 Aesthetica Art Prize.

“I’m excited to share my work, Encounters, at Bicester Village,” says Messam of his installation. “My hope is that visitors will enjoy discovering the unexpected as they explore the vibrant, playful installations nestled across the Village.”

Working on a scale typically bigger than a house, Messam’s works explore the colour and scale of place. His recent large-scale textile works include a suite of temporary follies at Fountains Abbey – a UNESCO World Heritage site in North Yorkshire – and WWII bunkers filled with inflatable forms along the coast of Denmark. 

Encounters runs until the end of June at Bicester Village, Pingle Drive, Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 6WD. thebicestercollection.com