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Arts & Entertainment

These Massive, Glowing Bunnies Are Plotting To Invade Downtown L.A.

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A couple of giant rabbits will be popping up in downtown Los Angeles this summer as part of a traveling art show. "Intrude" is presented by Arts Brookfield and features two big bunnies—one 39 feet long, the other 39 feet high—created by Australian artist Amanda Parer. The bunnies are made out of white nylon, then inflated and illuminated from the inside. They're touring the states right now and will appear in New York next month, followed by Houston, Los Angeles and Denver. They made a stop in Washington D.C. last month.

Now, bunnies are, of course, adorable. However, Parer's art isn't about how cute bunnies are, but rather how they're actually a big problem in spite of their cuteness. In Australia, bunnies were brought from overseas by white settlers in 1788, then proceeded to mate like, well, rabbits, she writes on her website. She calls rabbits "an out of control pest, leaving a trail of ecological destruction wherever they go and defying attempts at eradication."

They represent the fairytale animals from our childhood—a furry innocence, frolicking through idyllic fields. Intrude deliberately evokes this cutesy image, and a strong visual humour, to lure you into the artwork only to reveal the more serious environmental messages in the work. They are huge, the size referencing "the elephant in the room", the problem, like our environmental impact, big but easily ignored.  

So, that's something to think about when you take your darling selfies with the art! The rabbits hop into Los Angeles on June 5 and will remain through June 11. They'll be on display from noon to 9 p.m. each day, and can be found among three locations: Bank of America Plaza, Wells Fargo Center and FIGat7th.

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