This Summer the artist Willie Cole installed four monumental chandelier sculptures on Park Avenue at 69th St and 70th St in Manhattan.

They are titled “Soul Catchers” and constructed out of used plastic water bottles.

Each work features interesting mathematical properties. The substrates are a series of circles with decreasing circumference from top to bottom, positioned so that the center of each circle is along a vertical axis.The number of bottles attached to this set of circles also decreases from top to bottom.
The use of chandeliers as the subject hints at the posh reputation of Park Avenue. Juxtaposing the wealth of the neighborhood with the use recycled plastic bottles Cole is making a societal statement, reflecting  on our reliance on single use plastic as well as the need for global access to safe drinking water.

This work will be up until November 5th.

Susan Happersett