Coachella’s hippo installation

At Coachella’s first weekend, one of the busiest sights between sets was a 60-foot tower where hippos pantomimed running a media company. (desertsun.com) The installation is called “Network Operations,” and it sat between the Coachella Stage and the Outdoor Theatre during Weekend 1, which ran April 10-12 in Indio, California. (desertsun.com) (coachella.com) The piece shows larger-than-life hippos inside a three-story command center filled with newspapers, podcasts, radio gear and other media props, all staged as a fictional corporate headquarters. (desertsun.com) (kesq.com) “Network Operations” is the latest chapter in Dedo Vabo’s long-running “Hippo Empire,” which Coachella says has appeared before as “Power Station” in 2013, “Corporate Headquarters” in 2015 and “Hazardous Interstellar Planetary Operations” in 2019. (coachella.com) (dedovabo.com) Coachella’s own artist notes describe Dedo Vabo as a partnership between Derek Doublin and Vanessa Bonet that mixes sculpture, live performance and satire at large scale. (coachella.com) Local television station KESQ reported that the new structure took months to plan and build and that artists framed it as a commentary on how information, branding and messaging move through modern media systems. (kesq.com) The hippos’ return also marked their first Coachella appearance since 2019, giving longtime festivalgoers a familiar visual gag in a new corporate setting. (coachella.com) (aol.com) By Sunday, the installation had become one of the festival’s most photographed non-music attractions, with Desert Sun and other Southern California outlets publishing separate walk-throughs and photo galleries from inside the piece. (desertsun.com 1) (desertsun.com 2) (ocregister.com) Weekend 2 runs April 17-19, so the same tower of bumbling media bosses is set to stay on the Empire Polo Club grounds for another round. (coachella.com)