The Blessing of the Boats
- Steel and mirrored plexi
- 84 x 192 x 48 in
- Muna Malik
Muna Malik originally conceived of her sculptural installation project, Blessing of the Boats, as a tribute to global migration and the millions of people who have left the countries where they were born with the hopes of finding reliable work and more secure futures for their families. These migrants are an indispensable, if often undervalued, segment of the workforce in nations like the United States.
Muna has expanded the focus of her project as she has replicated her Blessing of the Boats installation in public and private spaces around the country. Building on the topic of global migration, the artist’s goal now is to prompt people to consider how we might come together to create a better society.
She asks: “What message would you leave if you knew your words would have a major impact on someone?” and “Given the opportunity to sail toward a new future, what society would you create, and how might we get there?”
The project invites the public to share in the labor of creating the artwork by encouraging viewers to craft origami paper boats, which they inscribe with heartfelt messages for the future. The paper boats are collected and added to each installation, allowing the large vessel to slowly fill. This sculpture speaks for itself in that it touches on the proposed theme as well geographically looks good next to the river that the new construction borders.
Muna Malik is a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles, CA. Her work has been featured in such exhibits and publications as The New York Times, LA Times, Vogue, Annenberg Center for Photography, ICP and the MOCA Geffen. Using painting, sculpture, and photography, her work explores abstract forms, including elements of gesture and biomorphism influenced by Arabic and Somali thought, forced movements and migrations, the idea of liberation through movement, and the notion of ‘identity formation’.
Her work has been exhibited at Parrish Art Museum, MOCA Geffen, The International Center of Photography, Kavi Gupta Gallery, and ESMOA. She has been a billboard artist in the “For Freedoms 50 State Initiative'' and “2020 Awakening.” Her work has also been featured in ArtForum and i-D Magazine. She recently unveiled a new large scale interactive sculpture in Battery Park City, NYC that has made its way to Governor’s Island.