Hugh Hayden: Brier Patch Installation in Madison Square Park

“Brier Patch” features a total of one-hundred wooden elementary school-style desks that erupt with tree branches, cohering into tangled assemblies with complex and layered meanings. The accumulations of desks summon the grid arrangement of classroom seating. Referencing folklore traditions around the world, the work calls on the notion of the brier patch as a place protective for some and dangerous for others, drawing connections to similar disparities within the education system and the ideal of the American Dream. On view from January 18 through April 24, 2022, Brier Patch is complemented by a suite of public programs centered on storytelling and education. Located in Madison Square Park, New York City on 27 Jan 2022.

Photos by Manoli Figetakis

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