Huguenots

The history of the Huguenots, the history of the Lenape nation, of those who came and left Staten Island and those who remain. Centuries of displacement and migrations, a constant movement of people. We commemorate these histories with FACE.

On the North of the station, there are 500 faces facing towards Manhattan, on the South, 500 faces coming home. The faces are silhouettes photographed at the station over a course of a week.

As you walk down the stairs, the faces are moving above you. They’re facing forward, going to the city or facing home when you return. On the ramp the faces face away from you. They’re indented as if you could put your face there.

The faces are framed with stainless steel tube, 1 x 3 inches. Each ‘totem’ consists of 3 faces on the outside facing away from the ramp, and 3 faces that are ‘indented’ that have their back to the ramp. There are no sharp edges, each edge is rounded to avoid any possibility of injury.

The totems are all laser-cut stainless steel, from ⅜ inch plate. We will use a ‘packing’ application to minimize waste.

The columns flanking the panels are at least 6 x 6 inches in plan. Although we prefer the tips of the faces to overhang the edge of the ramp, the panels can also be set in line with the columns as well. As we design each panel, we will ensure to have a maximum opening of 4 inches, but actually will aim for 3 ½”.