"(We want to) really give people some magic," says artist and metal fabricator Cjay Roughgarden.

And that's exactly what she's doing with her interactive art installation, "Naga and the Captainess", which opened in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in July.

"Naga" is a 100-foot-long, 25-foot-tall sea serpent--with a story around him. He blows bubbles, inspires oohs and aahs when he lights up at night, and is designed to challenge the "evil sea serpent" mythology prevalent in the West.

Cjay, who is the proprietor of Richmond-based metal fabrication studio Element 26, explains that the catalyst for her project was a favorite childhood book: "Cyrus, the Unsinkable Sea Serpent".

And from there, she began researching the lore of sea serpents. Ultimately, her goal of creating a more likable character led her to explore Asian culture's positive view of dragons.

The result: Naga, with a friendlier face that tends to delight visitors.

"Naga and the Captainess", which Cjay built in collaboration with fellow artists Jacquelyn Scott and Stephanie Shipman, debuted at Burning Man 2024. The full installation included a sinking ship, the Aldrovanda, which had a highly-detailed cabin, and treasure surrounding it.

And it was one of the most popular installations in Black Rock City.

Fast-forward to Summer, 2025.

After a four-month visit to the Petaluma Fairgrounds, Naga was on his way to San Francisco. The opening of the installation, Cjay explains, drew far more visitors than she'd anticipated.

And the real treasure of "Naga", is the community-building he inspires.

More than 250 volunteers worked on the installation, which Cjay and her team had four months to build after obtaining funding. Those volunteers did everything from calligraphy to sewing to handcrafting treasure.

"One of the things that I think is so special about projects like this, is that it brings together people in different fields,"Cjay says.

Future plans include considerable community involvement for the locals of San Francisco.

The vision for the future

A smaller version of the Aldrovanda, the Aldrovanda II, is planned for addition to Golden Gate Park, according to Naga and the Captainess' website. And the final stage of the project, Stage III, envisions community programming, such as interactive theatre and hands-on artisan workshops, happening at the installation.

Would you like to help? 501(c)(3) nonprofit Illuminate, the project's fiscal sponsor, has a link for donations.

Meanwhile, for updates on "Naga" (and to see a cool video of him blowing bubbles!), be sure to follow Naga and the Captainess on Instagram!

Cjay shared the story of creating and transporting "Naga and the Captainess", previewed an exciting upcoming related art project and offered advice on what works best, for making a large-scale creative project a reality.