Friends of Downtown is once again raising eyes (and phones) to the sky with a dazzling new aerial installation for Foo Foo Festival: Afterburn.
“We named it as a nod to the Blue Angels,” says Caron Sjoberg, president of ideawörks, who helps bring these massive projects to life each year. “Everyone all over the country and world knows the Blue Angels, so we felt this would be a good opportunity to pay tribute to them in an artistic way and get more people to enjoy the culture of downtown.”
Created by Tomislav Topic, a Berlin-based artist with a global portfolio spanning Beijing, Paris, South Africa, and India, Afterburn is as technically impressive as it is beautiful. Composed of layers of PVC mesh—coated and hand-painted with lacquer—the work is designed to withstand the elements outdoors while maintaining intense, luminous color. Thanks to the mesh’s open weave, its overlapping layers produce a subtle moiré effect: colors that merge, shift, and vibrate as the viewer moves, creating an almost holographic presence in the sky.
The inspiration comes directly from Pensacola’s most iconic performers: the Blue Angels. The artist translated the team’s precision and symmetry into four distinct lines converging toward a central point, echoing the choreography of their formation flights. By leaving parts of the sky unobstructed, the work becomes a dialogue between art and atmosphere—its painted mesh constantly transformed by wind, light, and the endless backdrop of the Florida sky.
And while the vision belongs to the artist, the framework is a testament to local ingenuity. Razor’s Edge, a Pensacola-based company that has engineered past favorites like Umbrella Sky, Bubble Alley, and Fire & Rain, is once again lending its expertise. “They actually do installations like this all over the country, even in L.A.,” Caron says. “They’re amazing, and we’re so glad to have them on board every year.”
The installation will soar above Intendencia Street at Palafox—right where Umbrella Sky dazzled crowds in 2017. Suspended between World of Beer and Rusted Arrow, Afterburn is set to become not just a piece of art but a gathering place. “Anybody can see it,” Caron explains. “Anyone of any income or age can enjoy it. It’s up night and day, so people don’t have to worry about when to get there. That’s important for us—we want it open to the public and accessible.”
That openness has made past projects more than photo ops—they’ve become stages for proposals, weddings, yoga classes, fashion shows, and even morning runs. And when Afterburn eventually comes down, its story may continue: the artist envisions recycling the mesh into something new, perhaps high-quality bags or another installation.
Still, its greatest impact will be here and now. “Without Foo Foo Fest funding, we could never do a project like this,” Caron notes. “It’s a huge deal for downtown. The foot traffic goes up and stays that way—shops, restaurants, bars, galleries all feel the boost. Every time we do one, we look back and think, ‘Wow, we’re so glad we did that.’”