Shimon Attie, installation view of Night Watch, 2018, a commissioned project by More Art. Courtesy of More Art.
Night Watch is a short, silent film by Shimon Attie that brings center stage New York’s refugees and asylum seekers, the city’s newest and most vulnerable inhabitants. Displayed on a 20-foot-wide by 12-foot-tall LED screen mounted aboard a large utility vessel, the high definition minimalist film is comprised of a series of moving portraits of individuals from a wide array of backgrounds and ages, all of whom come gradually into focus from the distance and gaze at the viewer poignantly, quietly, and powerfully.
Developed through research and collaboration with legal aid organizations such as Safe Passage Project and Immigration Equality, as well as community empowerment groups including Queer Detainee Empowerment Project and RIF Asylum Support, Night Watch blends new media technologies with community-based engagement and dialogue, creating a dramatic, resonant and cogent floating media installation.
The route of the traveling installation began in Staten Island, and slowly traveled up and down the East River and Hudson River along the shores of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and New Jersey, sighted by millions of viewers on the waterfront of the Greater New York City area.
Night Watch was projected on a LED screen mounted on a barge, and is viewable from 5PM to 9PM for eight days starting Thursday, September 20 until Friday, September 28, during the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in 2018.
Artist: Shimon Attie
September 20-28, 2018, Hudson + East Rivers, New York City
Multimedia installation
Learn more at More Art
Shimon Attie, installation view of Night Watch, 2018, a commissioned project by More Art. Courtesy of More Art.
Shimon Attie, installation view of Night Watch, 2018, a commissioned project by More Art. Courtesy of More Art.
Shimon Attie, installation view of Night Watch, 2018, a commissioned project by More Art. Courtesy of More Art.
Shimon Attie, installation view of Night Watch, 2018, a commissioned project by More Art. Courtesy of More Art.
Shimon Attie, installation view of Night Watch, 2018, a commissioned project by More Art. Courtesy of More Art.
Shimon Attie, installation view of Night Watch, 2018, a commissioned project by More Art. Courtesy of More Art.
Shimon Attie, installation view of Night Watch, 2018, a commissioned project by More Art. Courtesy of More Art.
Shimon Attie, installation view of Night Watch, 2018, a commissioned project by More Art. Courtesy of More Art.