EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published by The Art Newspaper, an editorial partner of CNN Style.
New York
For the next year and a half, visitors to the ultra-modern Hudson Yards development on Manhattan’s far west side will be met by an icon of the ancient world. The fifth commission for the plinth on the High Line elevated park is an homage to the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the pair of 6th-century colossi in central Afghanistan that the Taliban blew up in 2001.
The new sculpture is by the Vietnamese American artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen and is titled after the nickname locals in the Bamiyan Valley gave to the larger of the two Buddhas, “Salsal,” which translates to “the light shines through the universe.”
“I hope this work becomes a site of inquiry and memory,” Nguyen said of his 27-foot-tall sandstone monument. “It wasn’t intended to speak about this moment, but unfortunately it does resonate with what is happening in today’s wars.”
His sculpture is not an exact replica of either of the Bamiyan Buddhas but is largely made of the same material: carved sandstone. The original Buddhas’ hands were destroyed centuries ago in an earlier act of iconoclasm; Nguyen has created two monumental steel hands that float slightly away from the sandstone limbs, supported by tall rods. They make gestures symbolizing fearlessness and compassion, and are cast from melted-down artillery shells sourced from Afghanistan — a process connected to Nguyen’s artistic practice of turning unexploded ordinances from the Vietnam War into vessels of memory and healing.
“There are so many parallels between the US wars in Afghanistan and Vietnam,” Nguyen said. “Materials are so important to my projects. We looked into sourcing sandstone from Pakistan, but it was too complicated. This was cast and carved in Vietnam then shipped here.”
The contrast between the earthy, organic sandstone of “The Light That Shines Through the Universe” and the industrial steel, concrete and glass of its setting evokes a slightly surreal sense of time travel. “There’s something so striking and evocative about seeing a sculpture made of sandstone,” said Cecilia Alemani, the director and chief curator of the High Line Art program. “It’s not something we’re used to seeing in contemporary art — it belongs to art history.”
Both Nguyen and Alemani said that when the sculpture was first proposed in 2023, the Taliban’s return to power two years earlier and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 were top of mind. Now, the project has taken on added poignancy amid the US and Israel’s war with Iran.
“It’s intrinsic to powerful public artworks that they become relevant or newly relevant depending on circumstances,” Alemani said. “For the plinth commissions, we always look for works that are not only iconic but that have this power to be relevant in a variety of contexts and temporalities.”
Nguyen’s poignant, solemn and ultimately hopeful project for the High Line Plinth — a prominent venue for public art that straddles the intersection of West 30th Street and 10th Avenue — follows projects at the site by Iván Argote, Pamela Rosenkranz, Sam Durant and Simone Leigh. It will be activated by a series of monthly lectures and guided meditation sessions, the first of which is scheduled for May 16 during the Frieze New York art fair nearby at the Shed.
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