Creativity BLOOMS
HOU DE SOUSA
Nancy Hou + Josh de Sousa

PROJECT PROFILE:

Artist: Hou de Sousa
Title: Blooms
Materials: Aluminum, Catalyzed Paint, LED Lighting
Fabrication + Installation: Demiurge
Location: San Jose, California

Artist Statement:

Adobe commissioned Hou de Sousa to build a collection of sculptures that stretch across a newly expanded campus in San Jose. A grove was “planted” along a large pedestrian bridge, with each tree occupying a minimal footprint and featuring a unique canopy and color palette. It was important to allow for a free flow of pedestrian circulation while also creating shaded space and celebrating the full spectrum of creativity that blooms from Adobe’s tools.

As one journeys across the bridge, they become immersed in a surreal experience of color and geometry, that continuously re-frames the surrounding context, and invites exploration and discovery. The project evokes the agricultural past of San Jose. Prior to personal computers, software, the internet, and the moniker of “Silicon Valley”, the area was primarily known for its vast fruit orchards. The project’s playful nature was further inspired by the illustrations of Dr. Seuss’s “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” as well as Maurice Sendak’s celebration of child-like imagination in “Were the Wild Things Are”.

Although quite large, each tree is composed of a structural lattice of aluminum plate that weighs just under a maximum permissible weight of 500 lbs. Structural connections were carefully coordinated with the bridge engineers and contractors so as to achieve a seamless transition between the tree trunks and bridge pavers. The lighting was also integrated into the design of the trees in order to blur the lines between materiality, light and sculptural form.

Blooms was completed in 2024 with the support of Adobe and is located at 333 West San Fernando Street in San Jose, California.