Since it emerged, the Covid-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of more than five million people globally. The loss is extraordinary, and the agony has been exacerbated by restrictions on collective mourning with family and friends denied physical participation in funerary rites and rituals for their loved ones. In 2020, Mexican-Canadian media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer responded with a virtual memorial whereby bereaved family and friends could create individual homages.
A Crack in the Hourglass was first commissioned by the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City and has been taking place virtually since November 2020. The project was staged as an ephemeral ‘anti-monument’; a space for catharsis and an impassioned lament that depends entirely on the participation of others.
Raphael Lozano-Hemmer, A Crack in the Hourglass, An Ongoing Covid-19 Memorial, at the Brooklyn Museum
Through ephemeral portraits made from hourglass sand, the installation and its online platform provide communities with space to collectively mourn and honour those lost to Covid-19 in New York City – which has seen some of the highest numbers of pandemic-related deaths in the United States – and worldwide.
The Brooklyn Museum is now presenting the first physical version of the work. Participants are invited to submit photographs of their loved ones who have died from Covid-19 through the project’s online platform, accompanied by a personal dedication, and watch in person or via live stream as a robotic arm deposits grains of sand onto a black surface to recreate the image. Once each portrait is formed, it is digitally archived and gradually erased by gravity. The same sand is then recycled into the next portrait forming an infinite number of memorials.
‘This project is designed for mourning our losses at a time when we have been socially distant and denied proximity to those affected. The piece also represents continuity, as the same sand is used to make an endless number of unique portraits,’ says Lozano-Hemmer, who is known for provocative indoor and outdoor art installations on the intersection of technology, architecture, performance, and public art. ‘I am very eager to see how the project is received in New York City, an epicentre of the pandemic, and am thankful to the Brooklyn Museum for bringing it to the United States.’
Raphael Lozano-Hemmer at the Brooklyn Museum. 'A Crack in the Hourglass, An Ongoing Covid-19 Memorial', until 26 June 2022.
Top and above: installation view of Raphael Lozano-Hemmer, A Crack in the Hourglass, An Ongoing Covid-19 Memorial, at the Brooklyn Museum
INFORMATION
Raphael Lozano-Hemmer, A Crack in the Hourglass, An Ongoing Covid-19 Memorial, until 26 June 2022, the Brooklyn Museum, brooklynmuseum.org
-
Arthur Casas reimagines Villa Dubrovnik as a modern Adriatic retreatThe Brazilian architect brings poetic restraint and light to Croatia’s most elegant coastal hotel
-
14 of the best new books for music buffsFrom music-making tech to NME cover stars, portable turntables and the story behind industry legends – new books about the culture and craft of recorded sound
-
Margaret Howell marks 55 years in business by reissuing pieces from her archiveThe stalwart of British design will reissue a series of archival silk scarves to celebrate the landmark anniversary, alongside an era-traversing exhibition of foulards at the brand’s Wigmore Street store
-
Inside the work of photographer Seydou Keïta, who captured portraits across West Africa‘Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens’, an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, celebrates the 20th-century photographer
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFrom sumo wrestling to Singaporean fare, medieval manuscripts to magnetic exhibitions, the Wallpaper* team have traversed the length and breadth of culture in the capital this week
-
María Berrío creates fantastical worlds from Japanese-paper collages in New YorkNew York-based Colombian artist María Berrío explores a love of folklore and myth in delicate and colourful works on paper
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekAs we approach Frieze, our editors have been trawling the capital's galleries. Elsewhere: a 'Wineglass' marathon, a must-see film, and a visit to a science museum
-
June Leaf’s New York survey captures a life in motionJune Leaf made art in many forms for over seven decades, with an unstoppable energy and fierce appetite leading her to rationalise life in her own terms.
-
Jamel Shabazz’s photographs are a love letter to Prospect ParkIn a new book, ‘Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980 to 2025’, Jamel Shabazz discovers a warmer side of human nature
-
The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles launches the seventh iteration of its highly anticipated artist biennialOne of the gallery's flagship exhibitions, Made in LA showcases the breadth and depth of the city's contemporary art scene
-
Inside a Courtney Love-inspired art exhibition in New YorkLiza Jo Eilers looks to the glory days of Hole at an exhibition at Grimm New York
