Nari Ward

DIAMOND GYM
"Placed inside the Battle Ground Baptist Church, its roof lined with the watermarks left from Katrina, Ward’s muscular diamond shaped armature made from old workout machines mimics the structure of the building. Small wavy water-like lines cover the mirrors that bracket the piece, while small fliers stapled on the outside of the walls evoke the papered surfaces once visually defining the neighborhood after the hurricane. Ward draws inspiration not only from New Orleans but from the Rev. Al Sharpton’s office for the National Action Network, a repurposed gym, located just outside the artist’s studio in Harlem for which the piece is named after. An assemblage of Martin Luther King Jr. and other speeches fills the space, the gym mirrors powerfully reflecting both the weight of the disaster and the growing strength of the people."
http://www.artfagcity.com/?s=artworld