Serendipity, 2013, steel, 75.5in x 21in x 1in, Tompkins Square Park, East Village, NYC
Serendipity, is a life-size, steel silhouette of a formerly homeless man who spent a lot of time in the park. The sculpture, part of NYC Parks & Recreation’s Art in the Parks program, lived in Tompkins Square Park for 10 months from June, 2013. The sculpture became participatory as strangers started to add various clothing, accessories and props to the steel figure, following the seasons.
Christopher Gamble, a regular of the park approached me during a site visit and struck up a conversation. We later met for coffee where he revealed he was previously homeless for 28 years and frequented the park. Gamble agreed to model for the sculpture and I embraced the spontaneous meeting, which highlighted the spirit of the park as well as its history.
The project was supported by the Foundation For Contemporary Arts
To read full press release, click here
I recorded the different transformations of the sculpture and created a blog: click here
Serendipity was mentioned in The Approval Matrix in the NY Mag - pdf here -
Serendipity, 2013, steel, 75.5in x 21in x 1in, Tompkins Square Park, East Village, NYC
Christopher Gamble, the model of the public sculpture posing
with Serendipity during the opening reception
Serendipity, 2013, steel, 75.5in x 21in x 1in