Color + Sound II | Interactive Blue Sculpture
Created for the Color + Sound II exhibition at the Shelby County Arts Council in Columbiana, Alabama, Banks Compton's interactive blue installation combines sculpture, sound, movement, and found materials into a work designed to be experienced through more than sight.
Banks was randomly assigned the color blue and developed the piece around the movement and unpredictability of weather along the Gulf Coast. A large sculptural sun anchors the installation, surrounded by stars and atmospheric imagery, while dozens of hanging elements create a curtain of color, texture, and sound.
Sculpture, Sound & Movement Inspired by Gulf Coast Weather
Project at a Glance
Exhibition: Color + Sound II
Location: EBSCO Fine Art Gallery, Columbiana, Alabama
Organization: Shelby County Arts Council
Year: 2026
Curator: Lindsay Dyess
Assigned Color: Blue
Medium: Mixed-Media Interactive Sculpture
Materials: Chimes, Bells, Shells, Plastic Discs & Found Objects
Inspiration: Gulf Coast Weather, Sound & Mardi Gras Fabrication
About Color + Sound II
Color + Sound II is a tactile, sensory-based exhibition curated by Lindsay Dyess and inspired by musician Dave Crenshaw's album Color + Sound. The 2026 exhibition features work by Banks Compton, Michelle Branson, Michelle Reynolds, Rae Lynn Dodson, and Jennifer McConnell alongside Crenshaw's music. Each participating artist was randomly assigned a color and encouraged to use textures, objects, sound, and interactive elements to create artwork accessible beyond a purely visual experience. The exhibition particularly emphasizes accessibility for people who are blind or have low vision, and visitors are encouraged to touch, explore, move through, and become part of the installations. The concept has a meaningful history at the Arts Council. The original Color + Sound exhibition was presented in 2022, and the Alabama State Council on the Arts later highlighted it as an immersive sensory experience that welcomed blind patrons, autistic adults, and students with cognitive disabilities.
Learn more about Color + Sound II at the Shelby County Arts Council
An Interactive Sculpture Designed to Be Heard
Suspended beneath the sculptural sun is a collection of chimes, bells, shells, plastic discs, and found objects selected for their different sounds, textures, and movement.
Visitors can brush their hands through the hanging elements, causing the individual pieces to collide and produce layers of delicate ringing and tinkling sounds. Air movement from nearby fans also activates the sculpture, allowing the installation to continually shift and create sound even without direct interaction.
The result is part sculpture and part instrument—an artwork that changes depending on the movement of the air and the people around it.
Inspired by Weather on the Gulf Coast
The piece draws from Banks' experience living and working along the Alabama Gulf Coast, where wind, water, storms, sunlight, and rapidly changing weather are constant parts of the landscape.
The large sun and surrounding celestial imagery establish the atmospheric theme, while the suspended materials respond physically to moving air. Rather than simply depicting weather, the sculpture allows movement itself to become part of the artwork.
Banks' experience building Mardi Gras floats in New Orleans also influenced the construction. Layered materials, oversized forms, decorative surfaces, fringe, movement, and theatrical fabrication all draw from techniques that continue to inform his sculptural work.
Beyond Murals
While Banks is best known for murals and painting, his practice also incorporates sculpture, fabrication, papier-mâché, interactive artwork, and immersive environments.
Projects like this installation draw on the same skills used in his sculptural reading tree at Foley Community Library, wearable papier-mâché work, and previous Mardi Gras float construction—combining storytelling with materials that extend artwork beyond a flat surface.