Red Nessie

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The serpentine sculpture known as “Red Nessie” stands as an icon of Janelia, meant to provoke thought and imagination.

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Beyond Janelia’s glass walls, a campus icon sits lakeside, stretching some 45 feet along the water. Named “Red Nessie” by its creator for its Loch Ness-monster likeness and cardinal-red hue, the five-piece figure forms an illusion: one seamless creature, woven into the earth.

Commissioned from artist Delos Van Earl in 2007, the 13-foot tall sculpture aligns with the northeast side of Janelia’s main building and often serves as a destination for Janelians and visitors as they stroll around campus. Red Nessie’s underbelly, seemingly embedded in the ground, invites onlookers to imagine and contemplate the unseen. The threaded, ribbon-like design suggests the idea that we see only what’s on the surface, and what we cannot see, we must imagine. This juxtaposition – one part visible, the other imaginary – is meant to increase the figure’s intrigue, according to Van Earl.