Culture
10:27, 08-Sep-2017
Mexican artist makes a statement by building a wall that can be torn down in New York
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A wall created from 1,600 handmade Mexican bricks appeared in New York's Washington Square Park on Thursday – only for it to be torn down a few hours later.
Mexican artist Bosco Sodi, 46, says he decided to build a wall destined for destruction in January, when President Donald Trump arrived in the White House.
In light of Trump's promise to build a wall along the US-Mexican border, Sodi set out to demonstrate "how when people come together, they can destroy any wall, be it mental, political, psychological or physical."
Visitors are invited to each remove one brick and collectively break down the wall titled "Muro" which is on display in Washington Square Park in New York. /AFP
Visitors are invited to each remove one brick and collectively break down the wall titled "Muro" which is on display in Washington Square Park in New York. /AFP
New York-based Sodi explained he came up with the idea while making bricks with local craftsmen in Oaxaca, Mexico, who told him about their experience of trying to find work in the United States.
The wall, standing some six feet tall and 26 feet long (two meters tall and eight meters long), was dismantled by passers-by – who were able to take their red brick home, complete with the artist's signature.
The first brick was removed by a representative of the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Sodi added the wall was 100 percent "made in Mexico."
"You can't get more Mexican than this: Mexican water, Mexican sun, Mexican air, fire, Mexican earth," he said.
"Each piece is created using a unique process; they are made in rustic kilns, and each kiln burns differently, resulting in differences in textures and colors."
Washington Square Park, in Lower Manhattan, has played host to numerous anti-Trump protests.
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Source(s): AFP