Ferry, 2009

This World & Nearer Ones, Creative Time, NYC

Ferry
Aluminum and vinyl, 180 x 60 x 58 feet
Site No 16

Upon boarding the Governors Island ferry, passengers are presented with a curious sight. On the upper deck, attached to the railings, are two signs: “Goats” on the left, and “Sheep” on the right. The signs recall the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus promises to separate all people—as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats—based on the kindness of their deeds, determining their fate for eternity. As artists have done for centuries, Wallinger takes a biblical story as his point of departure in order to contemplate the human condition. There is a reference as well to the names of the boats that carried Dutch colonists to the island in the early 17th century: Horse, Cow, and Sheep. The signs’ elegantly simple appearance, evoking the style of subway signage and the text of children’s books, reminds us of the wonder to be found in a journey across the water. As Wallinger writes, “Ferry is a ride. Being transported—it is a metaphor, an invitation to play. You are on your way to the island, many for the first time, and there will be many other art experiences to discover once you are disembarked. Trust me.”

Ferry is a reminder, rendered in playful anthropomorphism, of the binaries that we mull over every day: good/bad, right/wrong, us/them. How do we learn to distinguish one from the other? In fact, the piece suggests, making such determinations or judgment calls in an increasingly convoluted, morally complex world is part of our humanity. “We are in transit: riding a metaphor,” Wallinger explains. The back-and-forth journey of the ferry echoes the oscillation between choices that is integral to the decision-making process. The signs are not meant to divide people as they walk aboard the vessel, but rather to encourage each passenger to consider the moments in life when she or he must assess the options, weigh the pros and cons, and choose a side. “Imagine,” the artist urges, “a lifetime contained in one daytrip.”

In February 2009, Wallinger’s White Horse was selected as the winning proposal for the Ebbsfleet Landmark Project in southeastern England, for which the artist will realize a new, massive sculpture scheduled to be completed in 2010. Similar to his signs on the Governors Island ferry, his colossal statue of a white horse is both eye-catching in its bold simplicity (it is meant to astonish train passengers arriving from Continental Europe), and clearly inspired by the symbolism and literary associations that the animal conjures (the horse is, in fact, based on a painting by British equine portraitist George Stubbs). Both pieces are, furthermore, meant to be experienced during states of travel—moments for outward and inward reflection..

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