There’s a new 12-foot-long metal dragon in St. George.
Its eyes are made from kitchen utensils. Its belly, two stop signs. The scales that cover its wings, horns and everywhere else come from the Salt Lake City police station’s evidence room.
“All those license plates you see on that dragon have been confiscated by the police,” Utah County artist Deveren B. Farley said. “Every five to six months, they’ll call me up and say, ‘Hey, Deveren, we got another load for you.’”
He recently installed this larger-than-life sculpture in Town Square Park as part of the annual Art Around the Corner event. It’s an outdoor gallery that features dozens of pieces around St. George starting April 12.
The idea is to support Utah creators by marketing their work, while bringing art to the masses.
“Public art is so important,” Art Around the Corner Foundation Chair Heather Atkin said. “It lets people who maybe wouldn’t have access to fine art have that access on a daily basis.”
This year’s event includes 38 pieces by artists from across Utah and as far away as Louisiana and British Columbia. The creators get a small stipend to lend the pieces to the city for one year, and the community gets to enjoy the thought-provoking view.
“It’s a way for people not only to interact differently with the world, but see the world through a different perspective,” Atkin said.