Photo Essay: Ai Weiwei, "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors"

Last week, a series of public art installations by the artist and political dissident Ai Wei Wei went on display around New York City. The series, entitled "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors." is immigration themed, and coincides with the release of the artist's documentary film on the current refugee crisis, entitled "Human Flow."

The exhibits' title is clearly a commentary on Trump's promised border wall, the symbol of the current anti-immigrant mood in much of America. I took the photos below of the installation under the arch in NYC's Washington Square Park, taken on the exhibit's opening day. The installation resembles a giant bird cage, with a huge gash through its bars. The shape of the "gash" is vague and open to interpretation; the first time I viewed it, I thought it resembled a giant fist. On subsequent viewings, the shape appeared to resemble the outline of a person carrying his belongings (and possibly a child?) on his or her back.

There are related installations all around New York City; information and an interactive map can be found at the following link: https://www.publicartfund.org/ai_weiwei_good_fences_make_good_neighbors/map

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