Henrique Oliveira’s installation at the Projective Eye Gallery.

Henrique Oliveira arrived in Charlotte with minimal plans for the art installation he would build for the Projective Eye Gallery in University of North Carolina-Charlotte’s Center City Building. Instead he took the first few days to sit in the space and reflect, drawing inspiration from the room’s architecture, light and utility to produce 20 sketches of this site-specific work. Inspired by the natural light streaming into the Projective Eye Gallery, Oliveira came to see the space as a “glass case” to hold a unique specimen; thus, the idea for a creature was born.

Oliveira is known for his use of repurposed materials, especially weathered plywood fences and old flooring, so the next step was to scour Charlotte area dumps, scrap yards and construction sites to locate usable discards. Then, with the aid of Art + Architecture staff, faculty, students and Oliveira’s assistant Chico Togni, Oliveira started to build what has become known as the “beautiful beast,” according to gallery curator Crista Cammaroto. The end result is an intriguingly disjointed beast with carpet padding and fiberglass sheeting for skin, railroad ties and tires for legs, and large barrels as odd protrusions slightly indicating blow holes. The beast is a completely new specimen neither wholly whale nor insect or lizard, but a radical amalgamation of all three.

Like other organic material, Oliveira’s fantastical beast has a limited life span. It will only be on display for a few more weeks until March 12.

Henrique Oliveira’s installation at the Projective Eye Gallery.

UNC Charlotte Center City: 320 E. 9th St., Charlotte; centercity.uncc.edu. Open Mon.-Sun., 9 a.m.–9 p.m.