And you thought your backyard had interesting birds.
Giant flamingos have risen from the tiny backyard of one East Williamsburg property, where the owner has created a one-of-a-kind shrine to his childhood.
Standing 28 and 17 feet tall, respectively, and weighing 800 pounds each, the massive sculptures are Jeff Koons-inspired, exact replicas of the iconic 1967 Featherstone flamingo lawn ornaments — magnified 12 times.
It took Brooklyn resident Eric Ogden six years and thousands of dollars to make his fake feathered friends a reality, including $25,000 to crane them over his Bushwick Avenue home and into the yard.
“I don’t consider myself an artist,” Ogden told The Post. “This was something that was not done to sell art, to become an artist or anything like that. But I do think in its own way, it’s very pure. I did it for myself and for anyone who wants to enjoy it.”
The idea struck Ogden back in 2010, when he was first exposed to Koons’ pieces of everyday items blown up to cartoonish sizes. He thought to a formative image of his own childhood — the classic flamingo lawn ornaments, which adorned the green spaces he mowed in his south Jersey hometown for $5 a pop. The idea took hold, and Ogden saw it through years of financial and logistical hurdles to get it to the finish line.
East Williamsburg resident Eric Ogden shows off his signature 30-foot flamingo sculptures in his backyard in Brooklyn. Stephen Yang
Each humongous flamingo sculpture weighs 800 pounds. Stephen Yang
Eric Ogden’s feathery friends are craned over to his house. Handout
Eric Ogden’s flamingo sculptures were recently painted blue and pink. Stephen YangIt took three years to procure the permits for the birds, which are completely legal and made of steel, epoxied foam and fiberglass — and made to withstand 150 mph winds, Ogden said. He designed them himself, and built them with the help of Philadelphia-area makerspace Nexlab, and had to restructure his lease as part of the approval process.
The flamingos were installed in 2016, and painted from pink to blue in 2021 to match the original Featherstone colors.
“Now everybody and their mother buys me flamingo things,” he said. “Some are useful. I have flamingo sheets and bottle openers. But I also have flamingo salt shakers, and I don’t even use salt. My spirit animal isn’t even the flamingo, it’s the gerbil. I have an affinity for lawn-ornament flamingos. I have an affinity for this thing that was part of my childhood.”
Eric Ogden shelled out $25,000 to haul over the flamingo sculptures into his East Williamsburg property. Handout
Eric Ogden was inspired to build his own flamingo paradise in his south Jersey hometown. Stephen Yang
The jaw-dropping birds are local celebrities along Bushwick Avenue, even showing up on real estate listings of neighboring properties. They make for a word-of-mouth sensations in the hipster enclave, and cast a wild backdrop for the occasional DIY events Ogden hosts, including a recent pop-up comedy show.
Not everyone is a fan.
“There is one guy now who lives behind me who throws an egg at me every time there is a party in the backyard, even if there is no music,” Ogden said. “But 99.99% of the time, the reaction is incredibly positive and warming. I’ve run into people who say, ‘Please turn on the lights more, so I can see them.’ “
