vip in the city

Floodwall

Floodwall, an exhibit by New Orleans artist and YA/YA (Young Aspirations/Young Artists), Inc. founder Jana Napoli was on display on the Liberty Street Bridge from January 4 through February 9, courtesy of the World Financial Center and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

The installation consisted of just over half of the 610 drawers the artist salvaged from flooded streets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Returning to New Orleans a month afterwards, Napoli searched for drawers that had been dumped on the curb, sometimes collecting as many as 50 a day after removing their sodden personal contents.  All that remained was the pastered-on detritus: a piece of an address book here, rubber bands and paperclips there.  The address where each of the drawers was collected was written on the back. Napoli set out alone in her van each morning for months, randomly traversing every neighborhood in the city to collect her pieces.

In this exhibit the drawers sat upright along a platform, spanning the length of the pedestrian bridge as the words of some of their former owners scroll in red across electronic screens.

The idea of bringing Floodwall to the trade center site came from David Lackey of Whirlwind Creative, a company that plans and designs museum exhibits. Before 9/11, the Liberty Street Bridge connected the World Trade Center to the World Financial Center. Today it offers a direct view over Ground Zero, and all the construction currently taking place. This afternoon, it offered an eerie juxtaposition of two studies in loss and absence.

There's 1 comment so far ... Floodwall

Qsoz
February 20, 2007

I remember wandering around the WTC concourse and crossing over to the WFC on the Liberty Street Bridge. Is the other bridge on the northern end of the site still intact?

Go for it ...