A Fountain for Survivors
Title
A Fountain for Survivors
Year
2021
Size
15 ft tall fountain inside 18 ft x 22 ft x 24 ft carapace
Materials
400,000 acrylic nails, dense foam, resin, steel, paint, water, Wishing Wafers, interior & exterior lighting, music, heaters, Swarovski crystals, rhinestones, wampum
Series
A monument to maintaining.
Building on a body of work called ‘Fountains for Black Joy,’ A Fountain for Survivors is both an ode to the ways in which we maintain ourselves and an exuberant life-affirming monument for survivors of all kinds. Adorned with a handmade mosaic of hundreds of thousands of acrylic fingernails, a massive cocoon-like structure houses a tiered water fountain inside a warm, welcoming, and enveloping space. This is my first public art project and is an invitation to the public to make a wish using the 'wishing wafer' which I designed for the project.
Photo documentation by Michael Hull for Times Square Arts
Wishing Wafers
A Fountain for Survivors was commissioned by Times Square Arts with generous support provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and in part through support from the New York State Council on the Arts and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Programming for this project is made possible in part by the New York City Artist Corps.
Thank you to UOVO for the transport, art handling, and storage of the work.
Agger Fish Building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard was donated by Marc Agger for fabrication support. Thank you to Denny Dimin Gallery.
Fabrication & Installation Direction by Art Domantay
Fabrication & Installation Management by Jeremy Gender
Acrylic-nail assembly leadership by Marie Ucci & Jacob Olmedo
Painting & Murals by Larry Oraa
Sound Design by Reid Farrington
Special Thanks to Candy Truong and Echiverri & Co.
Special Thanks to Marc Agger for production support
Project management and fabrication by Powerhouse Arts and Spaeth Design
Fabrication & Installation from Powerhouse Arts by Vaneik Echeverria, Roberto Flores, Aaron Gerth, Jhon Marin, Leia-lee Doran, Michael Umesi, Zeelie Brown, Gabriella Pelkey, Liridona Seferi, Chris Pleasant, Kristy Barbour, Devon Petrovits, Ingri Von Bergen, Mariana Quintero, Nellie Davis, Kelsey Knight Mohr, Daniel Vissac, Daniel Quinn, Rodrigo Chazaro, Mike Cacciatore, Michael Wiernicki, Car'Millee John, Henry Culpepper, Peter Perry, Talya Brott, Andy Barrett, Eleanor Gonzalez, Julian Gonzalez, Christian Haye, Dave King, Jacques Agbobly, Kpiebom Kogda, Alexis Acevedo, Laura Serman, and Barbara Bowen
Fabrication & Installation from Spaeth Design by Quinn O'Sullivan, Jay Kim, Juan Hidalgo, Ramiro Marte, Arthur Mims, Brian Comisky, Candido Garcia, Mike Low, Matt Elliott, Nico Lopez, David Robertson, Olga Alexandrova, David Spaeth, and Sandy Spaeth
Accent nails designed and created in collaboration with Sonya Belakhlef and Imagine Uhlenbrook
Accent nail decoration by Sonya Belakhlef, Erica Hipp, Mamie Onishi, LaTasha Simmons, and Ada Yeung
Wishing Wafers designed in collaboration with Dezarae Brown of Body by Bee
Topiaries designed in collaboration with topiary artist Mike Gibson
Graphic design by Paulina Almira
Structural engineering by Arup
Special fabrication services by The Factory
