Giant Hands over the Gothic Bridge in Central Park, a public art installation, a part of the Giant Hands series of installations.
Created by NYC based contemporary artist Mirena Rhee.
Giant Hands Over The Bridge was a very dynamic work and has been in my head as an abstract form for several years. I had previously tried various “over the bridge” hangings of hands but at the time I had very few hands made.
Giant Hands Over The Bridge was shifting all day as the weather constantly changed, and the wind and the audience were my partners in the work. I worked all day around the bridge shifting the hands from under the bridge to over the bridge.
Making these installations is very surprising and exciting in that they are only an idea up the moment the hands hit the pavement. The moment the hands hit the pavement - all kinds of things happen - the hands have their own mind. I bend to the will of the hands - I think of what is the most logical way and most natural way to work with them and the space and the place - in this instance - the Gothic Bridge in Central Park.
I have been eyeing the Gothic Bridge in Central Park for a while now, and had been stalking it digitally staring at my phone at the pictures I took of it and the area around it and thinking of when the moment will come to work with it.
Often times working with the ( park, police, fire department, security, general public ) authorities becomes part of the work. Big thanks to the NYPD and the Park Conservancy who allowed me to work and gave me a thumbs up. I work without obtaining permits beforehand because of the ephemeral nature of the work and the very shifting weather, my time and the city we live in.
I worked all day moving hands around so there was not a quiet moment and there were no before and after pictures - first I stuffed them all under the bridge - then I started pulling them out and hanging them over one by one - making decisions in the moment and based on the wind patterns.
