About this Art Collection
Terminal 1, Ticketing, Upper Level (pre-security)
Materials: Gold mirrored stainless steel panels, custom laser cut aluminum plates, stainless rods and sleeves
Artist Nova Jiang’s monumental hanging sculpture is inspired by the rarest pine species in the United States: the Torrey Pine (Pinus torreyana), found almost exclusively along the San Diego coast. These resilient trees are shaped over time by relentless ocean winds, their sculptural branches bending away from Pacific storms. Historically, they’ve held significance for the region’s Indigenous people, including the Kumeyaay, who used the pine nuts for food, the long needles for weaving, and the sap as adhesive. Today, the Torrey Pine remains a powerful symbol of endurance and adaptation.
The artwork echoes the sculptural forces of nature with artist-made forms derived from Jiang’s experimental observations of the tree species. The final wind-swept canopies are formed from 927 gold-mirrored stainless-steel panels, suspended by 331 cables. Although stationary, the elegant, twisted shapes convey a sense of movement and energy. The shimmering gold surfaces reflect and refract light, evoking the delicate balance between nature and human imagination, resilience, and transformation.
Nova Jiang:
Nova Jiang is a Southern California–based artist whose work blends new technologies with traditional techniques across painting, sculpture, works on paper, and public art. Drawing on her experience as a young immigrant to New Zealand, she explores themes of identity, climate change, and xenophobia by bringing together familiar forms in unexpected ways. Jiang has exhibited internationally and completed major public commissions in cities including Los Angeles, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sacramento, Redmond, STATE, Charlotte, and San Diego.
