Petrosino Prison Arrives on SoHo Median

Petrosino Park has another new short-term resident on its tiny island. Carole A. Feuerman’s swim-capped Serena departed the smog-kissed shores of SoHo, and was replaced last month by something a bit more sobering. “The Glass Sea” – a somber public art project that uses a triangular cinderblock jail cell as its central subject.

Harlem artist Jessica Feldman and designer Steven Gertner dreamed up the nine-foot-high mini-fortress, which was constructed just before Hurricane Sandy. Soundly built, as the solid concrete withstood the storm. Inside, a film is played on loop.

Meanwhile, placards affixed to the iron fencing detail daily schedules for inmates and patients, both past and present, who resided on the islands surrounding Manhattan – Rikers Island, Governors Island, Randalls Island, Wards Island and Roosevelt Island. In sum, the project is essentially a “sympathetic” commentary of those individuals on the periphery.

The exhibit is on display daily in Petrosino Park until November 25; hours are 9 am – 8 pm. What do you think of this installation?

[May 2012]