Lemos exhibit seems to float perilously in the air (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Olympic Tower Atrium
Onassis Cultural Center
645 Fifth Ave. between 52nd & 53rd Sts.
Admission: free
www.onassisusa.org/occ.art.htm
www.flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157622642001472
Greek artist Kalliopi Lemos, who lives and works in London, has installed “Perpetual Transitions” next to the waterfall in the Olympic Tower Atrium, part of a global public works project that includes pieces in Eleusis, Istanbul, and Berlin, re-creating the route taken by eastern European migrants looking for jobs in the west. Consisting of what she calls “bean boats,” the objects dangle precipitously from the ceiling, as if floating in the middle of nowhere, evoking the in-between status of migrants who have left their home to find a better life with more opportunity. The fifteen vaginal white plaster pods each contain seven misshapen egglike objects that represent the possibility — and difficulty — of spiritual and physical rebirth as they continue on their journey. Be sure to examine the installation from various different angles to get the full extent of this moving migration in Midtown Manhattan.