Where’s the Ball? (The Jax)

Where’s the Ball? (The Jax) by Misfit Toys Art Collective is a monumental public sculpture inspired by the classic children’s game of ball and jacks. Fabricated from steel and scaled roughly 85x times larger than the original toy, the oversized jax are scattered across the lawn of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.

Low to the ground and thoughtfully placed throughout the lawn, the sculpture invites visitors to sit, gather, and move through the installation. The pieces are low enough to sit on and wide enough to crawl under, creating a playful environment where kids weave between them, grandparents rest on them, and strangers naturally strike up conversations around them. The work transforms a familiar childhood object into a shared landscape for imagination, rest, and connection.

The concept began when Misfit Toys Art founder Mark Deem discovered an antique jack tucked inside the wall of a 1930s cottage during a preservation, sparking the vision to reimagine the nostalgic game at monumental scale. The work takes its name from the game itself—when you play jacks, the first thing you lose is the ball. Hence: Where’s the Ball?

The installation continues Misfit Toys’ growing presence in Golden Gate Park, joining their nearby work Remember When… (L-O-V-E Blocks), which has invited visitors to gather, photograph, and interact with the sculpture since 2022.