Art installation at Garden City Center highlights value of human connection. What to know
CRANSTON – What makes a home? For Mexican designers Hector Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena, the answer is found not in the four walls that surround a home but in the intangible interactions that people have with each other within them.
The two designers brought this vision to life with Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0, an art installation inspired by the markets of Latin America on display now at Garden City Center through Wednesday, June 12.
Visitors to the shopping center will notice eight three-dimensional red frames shaped like houses next to the shopping center’s gazebo. Each house has a swing where visitors can sway and socialize.
“With their basic shape recognizable by all, the tiny houses form a blank canvas for community engagement and activity, where people of all ages can socialize in a playful spirit,” says Garden City’s website.
The globetrotting installation has appeared in cities across the world, including Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Houston, Seattle and various cities in Canada. The swings are made of urban ash that the City of Montreal cut due to the emerald ash borer, an invasive species of beetle, according to the website of the tour company organizing the exhibit.
In 2017, the exhibit was repurposed as temporary shelters for families who lost their homes after an earthquake in Mexico.
“Mi Casa, Your Casa is a strong and subtle symbol in a geometric shape that allows us to build a unique iconic piece, one that creates a continuous dialogue with audiences and capable of continuous changes and mutations,” Esrawe said in a news release.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Garden City Center art installation Mi Casa, Your Casa on display
