A new sculpture at Brooklyn Bridge Park evokes colonization and migration with weathered steel

Published May 24, 2023

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You can't miss the gigantic sculpture catching the attention of passersby at the Empire Fulton Ferry Lawn in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The newly installed piece spells out the word "LAND" in a way that recalls a familiar predecessor: Robert Indiana's widely recognizable "LOVE" installation, but with materials that have a different association — the border wall separating the U.S. and Mexico.

Since it was unveiled last week, the 30-foot metal structure has provided a distinctive background for Instagram-worthy photos. But according to its creator, Nicholas Galanin, the piece is meant to spark conversations about colonization, migration and how everyday people interact now with land that once belonged to Indigenous people.

"I feel like this work references not only very specific conversations now in New York, but across the U.S.," said Galanin, a multidisciplinary artist of Tlingit and Unangax descent and a citizen of Alaska's Sitka Tribe. "This work is based on land, care for land, and history of language and land."

The sculpture, curated by the Public Art Fund, is Galanin's first public art piece in New York City. Its full title is "In every language there is Land / En cada lengua hay una Tierra," a reference to the "two colonial languages" that Galanin says have replaced Indigenous languages.

"I wanted to talk about the history of colonization, and the use of language to control and force assimilation amongst Indigenous communities and peoples to the Americas," he said.

Nicholas Baume, artistic and executive director of the Public Art Fund, says that he’d admired public artworks Galanin had created, including "Shadow on the Land, an excavation and bush burial," made for the 22nd Biennale of Sydney in 2020, and "Never Forget," erected outside of Palm Springs for Desert X 2021. When the opportunity to work with the artist arose, he said he jumped at it

"I had a feeling that he would be both interested in and very capable of dreaming up something wonderful for New York City," Baume said. "So he developed a very compelling proposal that I'm delighted has been realized."

Nicholas Galanin meant his new piece to spark conversations about colonization, migration and how everyday people interact now with land that once belonged to indigenous people.

The "LAND" sculpture is made out of the same weathered Corten steel used to construct the border wall. Sourcing the metal was challenging, Galanin says, but he felt it was important to pursue the right material to properly convey his message about the border working as a function of control and exclusion of people.

"As an Indigenous person, understanding the continual complex histories of this, that we are faced with in all of our communities today – this work engages that in a lot of ways," he said. "There's an opportunity here to address and understand and speak to current events that are happening right now with migration, and to look at possibilities of ways our communities can support those that are impacted by these things."

During a visit to the sculpture earlier this week, plenty of people stopped to take pictures of and with the sculpture. But only a few seemed to process the intentions behind it. Marcelo Alencar was running errands in the area when he stopped to take in the large artwork. He says it initially caught his eye because it blocked his view of the bridge.

"It kind of forces you to stop and ask, ‘What does it mean?"" Alencar said. "I love that. I think that should be the main purpose of street art in general: in the best way possible, attract attention to give information."

Renzo Cuadros was more familiar with the sculpture's background, and brought his friends to the park to see it. He says Galanin's piece made him imagine what people have gone through as they tried to cross the border into the U.S. to start a new life. Like Alencar, Cuadros believes public art should always have some kind of deeper meaning.

"This city is very diverse, and I love to see many artists coming to express their thoughts through art and culture," he said. "It's beautiful that you can see this today, and maybe in two weeks I’m not going to see it any more."

"In every language there is Land / En cada lengua hay una Tierra" is on view at Brooklyn Bridge Park through Nov. 12; more information here.

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Precious is a culture and arts reporter covering the diverse arts community around New York City. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-988-9525.

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