This artist’s balloon art installations are making us want to float away with joy
You may not know Jihan Zencirli by name, but you’ve probably seen her seen her balloon art featured in a celeb’s instagram feed. Yep, she’s a Zencircli is actually a balloon artist! That’s a thing, and it’s inspiring wonder for anyone who gets lucky enough to glimpse one of her creations.
Jihan runs a balloon art installation company called Geronimo Balloons. She moved to Los Angeles with a dream, like so many young people before her. But her dream was a little different, and it involved balloons. Zencirli recently spoke to Refinery29 about her floaty journey to the top of the balloon art world.
"I moved to L.A. on a whim, and within a week of arriving, I had hundreds of orders for my balloon designs. Back then I would drive around delivering balloons to celebrities and to grandchildren, lovers, best friends — mostly for birthdays."
Her designs are whimsical and bold. They hang off buildings like creatures from an otherworldly-realm, or arch across outdoor parties. She’s a favorite among celebrities (including Kanye West!), but she also does work for large corporations as a way to fund her altruistic goals. Geronimo often sets up free community art installations, which Zencirli says is her favorite thing to do.
According to Zencircli, balloon art is all about the message, not the medium.
"My one central goal is to delight. The aesthetic of what I’m creating is less important and will change as I change. If someone is able to see my work and connect to it, feel drawn to it, deeper than the aesthetic, then I’m satisfied."
Delight as an end goal is something we can connect to! It’s inspiring that Jihan not only has this gift for balloon art, but that she wants to let everyone take part in it. If you’re in the LA area, keep an eye out; you just might spy one of her balloon art installations out in the world.
