Braddock’s Temples
, 2016
Hand cut Tyvek

In this site-specific work, Liene Bosquê pays homage to Braddock’s historic churches and their earlier 19th century architecture. Similar to bunting, Bosquê suspended from the windows’ of the Braddock Carnegie Library’s façade paper cutouts, celebrating the city’s preserved landmarks. The geometric patterns were inspired by and made according to the outline of the magnificent stained glass windows from the neighboring churches. By so doing, Bosquê created a typology of Braddock’s architectural and cultural legacies. The imprint of the churches’ windows are a form of commemoration and preservation of the city’s cherished landmarks.

Bringing together elements from religious structures onto the library’s exterior, Bosquê alludes to the sacred and spiritual aspects existing in both sites. By transforming the library’s exterior, Bosquê also expresses the fate and uncertainty of some historic places, which in many cases are in disrepair, abandoned or forgotten. The relationship between these sites enhances the library’s objective as the “temple of knowledge,” where Bosquê, in fear of oblivion and destruction, exhibits the city’s past through these newly made artifacts.