by The slums of Kiberia, Kenya take on a special, enigmatic, glow when viewed from above. The large face art is only visible on a grand scale in the surveilling, Panopticonic view:
Today, after more than a year of planning, 2000 square meters of rooftops have been covered with photos of the eyes and faces of the women of Kibera. The material used is water resistant so that the photo itself will protect the fragile houses in the heavy rain season.
The train that passes on this line through Kibera at least twice a day has also been covered with eyes from the women that live below it. With the eyes on the train, the bottom half of the their faces have be pasted on corrugated sheets on the slope that leads down from the tracks to the rooftops. The idea being that for the split second the train passes, their eyes will match their smiles and their faces will be complete.
This amazing art project demonstrates how much more clearly we can get the “big picture” from afar while, up close, we may not ever be able to see the eyes for the teeth.
No other word for it than beautiful, David. Great effort brings great results.
That’s it, Anne. Beauty only visible from the sky. Is the experience the same for the people right next to the images? Or are they unable to see and feel the greater beauty surrounding them from above?
That is simply amazing, David. I would love to be part of creating such large art one day.
That project certainly is one of big ideas, Gordon. I love it how the “eyes” on the train “line up” with the rest of the faces on the ground. It’s an interactive and ever-changing piece of art!
Aesthetically, it’s just beautiful – no question asked.
But I agree with you David, did the habitats enjoy the same, the way we did it – from the top?
It must be strange to be “on the ground” and “in the ‘hood” Katha — and be surrounded by all those gigantic, out-of-scope faces!