In the prominent, highly visible side yard of the Bellevue Pump Station, an aluminum and steel sculpture links the sky with life on the ground.

Dan Webb’s Gnome features a life-size garden gnome standing beneath a cloud and using a small watering can to feed a trio of mushrooms growing out of the end of a pipe. The pipe leads to a network of other pipes, connecting each element of the sculpture and terminating at the exterior wall of the building (designed to look like a suburban home), as if tied to the plumbing inside. The overall effect underlines the interconnectedness of the individual parts.

The plumbing that links my sculptures is very similar to what is being used in the Pump Station itself, extending the connectivity suggested by the piece beyond just the cloud, gnome, and mushroom, to include the architecture as well. – Dan Webb

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Based in Seattle, Webb primarily makes sculpture and drawings, which have been exhibited widely throughout the United States. His other public art projects include Short Cut at Pike Place Market, Cloud Rider on the Chief Sealth Trail, and Move Your Boulder at Sound Transit’s Redmond Technology Station.