Great Wall of Topanga

An enormously fanciful oversized rat trap is a great diversion for the adventurous, especially if it dangles from a steep incline which meets an unpredictably twisty canyon road.

It is accompanied by a giant cockroach sculpture and an installation of sundry upcycled jetsam – leg crutches, a surf board, computer parts, baby dolls, a bike wheel, a broom: everything but, nay, including an actual kitchen sink. Much of the rubbish is assembled to spell the words “Got Art?” and “Toys Wuz Us” while odds and ends create a peace sign, ampersand, and heart icon over a mural background.

It more closely resembles a colorful segment of the Berlin Wall than the monochromatic Chinese wonder, but the spirit of the arts is nonetheless felt quite strikingly when the interested explorer takes a moment off the road to approach on foot. It is the creation of Topanga resident Rick Denman, whose deck the wall supports. It started as an outgrowth of his objection to a Banksy (or Banksy wannabe?) stencil placed on the cinder blocks at street level. Denman’s humorous response was the rat trap with a spray can as bait for the world-famous tag artist whose work is often recognized by its rat imagery.

He plans to expand the wall to include an installation called “Mt. Rush Hour,” or “Mt. Rush No More,” a playful name inspired by the afternoon traffic crunch that plagues the mountainous pass.