For my final studio project, I decided to install a public art work at my site. The sculpture comprises of plastic bottles that have been deformed by virtue of a heat gun. The piece also comprises of a facial human element (made out of plaster) that represents the role of individuals in the waste disposal system. We constantly contribute to the inflows of the system and it is thus a humanistic element that is a reflection of ourselves. The site is the Concrete Plant Park located in the South Bronx. The park in itself is a restored structure from the concrete plant which once occupied the site. The Parks Department formed a partnership with community organisations including Bronx River Alliance to design and construct the park.

The piece is meant to interact with all the elements in the park blending into its landscape. While the bright colours are symbolic of the environmental implications of pollutants leak into the groundwater and soil, they also help to attract the attention of children who speak for a whole new generation (this is the philosophy of my community group Coqui the Chef)

The artwork is a refreshing burst of vitality in the midst of the stark concrete walls that make up the elevated subway station at Freedman Street in the Bronx. Out of the six pieces that can be found in the Bronx, each piece can be divided into three segments. The artwork demonstrates daily life in the neighborhood of the Bronx. The framework of the window seems to disrupt the illusion that the scene is trying to create. It is as thought the fluid movement of the picture is disrupted by the start nature of the bold lines. In addition to its feature as a window, I believe that this gridded obstruction could possibly signify a metaphorical representation of how things may not be as they seem and a deceptive quality about the environments around us.

The piece consists of a series of colored glass panels that stand elevated against the backdrop of light. It is a stained glass miracle made out of thousands of pieces of faceted glass. The ability to show kinetic movement in a still is what I marvel at.

When I visited the Bronx, it seemed to met like it was a place filled with people living there to get from one day to the next. There aren’t any gleaming or glaring, ‘city lights,’ or any external glamour that would propel visitors to consider it a lively or exciting neighborhood. I believe that the uniqueness of the Bronx comes with the fact that you see it for what it is. There aren’t any layers to it.What it holds most prominently is life and the daily functioning of ordinary people and the traces that they leave behind as individuals. There aren’t any towering sky scrapers or any dazzling landscapes. It is filled with quiet roads and corner streets, not the hustle and bustle of an overwhelming environment. One of the most prominent characteristics of the streets is the graffiti. It is a form of expression for the people and something they associate themselves with. It is more than an unofficial type of public message.

Art is at its most optimum force when it has the ability to capture the spirt of people and place. The reflecting glass pieces at the Freeman Street subway station, have the poignant ability in doing just that.

In an attempt to create an architectural monument, I used ‘rice krispies treats,’ as my unconventional material of choice. By heating it in the microwave for a couple of seconds, I melted the marshmallow combining the different fragments into one block. It then hardened to form a solid structure that I was able to carve. I wanted to transform the stark edges into gentle curves that would represent a fluid movement of lines. From every angle, the monument appears to be different and creates a rhythmic flow. I enjoyed the mouldable nature of the material as well as the ability to chisel it and transfigure it with my own artistic ability.

As I read the article ‘Iron Ivy,’ I get a grater understanding into what the fire escape has grown to represent, with the drawings I attempt to illustrate its structural counterparts with pen, ink and water colour.

A BALCONY, A BOX SEAT, A VIEWING PLATFORM.

With its iconic significance being highlighted, the fire escape was first developed as a ladder on wheels. Since its initial mobile structure, it has grown to form fixed structures on both buildings and our minds as we associate them as being characteristic of certain neighbourhoods. Lastly, I contrast the naturalistic creeper agains the iron manifestation of the human mind.