NEW YORK—Bearing words of heartfelt remembrance and emotion about Sept. 11, 2001, small pieces of translucent paper strung together on light bamboo frames fluttered in the wind as passersby paused to examine them on Thursday at Battery Park.
“Find peace in knowing you'll never be forgotten,” reads one of the reflections.
Over 200 of the cards were collected by the World Trade Center Visitor Center in collaboration with Feel the Music! and the Battery Park Conservancy to create the “9/11 Tenth Anniversary Reflections” public art installation.
“It’s emotional because when people start talking about their 9/11 story, which inevitably they did as they began to think about it, it takes the listener right back to that day as well,” said Meriam Lobel, curator of the Tribute WTC Visitor Center.
“The hopeful and inspiring part of listening to people’s 9/11 reflections now that 10 years have passed, is that people also think about the compassion in the city that flowed throughout every street right after 9/11 and how we all supported each other and worked together,” added Lobel.
Throughout the month of July, tables with art supplies were set up in parks and public areas around the city to offer New Yorkers an opportunity to share their experiences in a relaxed environment. The messages are strung together on 10 bamboo frames, each representing a year since the tragedy. One of the 10 frames is specifically for reflections sent in from around the world.
“Everyone in Sydney, Australia, feels your pain. Our heart goes out to you all,” reads one of the messages.
“Over the last six weeks we’ve had each week a different area of Manhattan to collect a diversity of thoughts,” said Jennifer Adams, CEO of the WTC Tribute Center.
Adams worked in the World Trade Center but was not there on the day of the attacks. She lost a friend on Sept. 11, who worked several floors above her office. Adams pointed out a card that stood out to her among others.
“After such a tragic episode we remain strong and these people who lost their lives become a significant part of the history of New York,” read part of that card written by Gustavo O.
Jim O‘Shea, 79, kept being flocked by reporters, but did not tire of telling his 9/11 story. O’Shea was in Midtown when the first plane hit and thought that it was an accident. When the second plane hit, that was no longer the case. He witnessed the evacuations of major buildings as authorities anticipated further attacks.
“After the second plane hit people immediately said, ‘We’re under attack!’ So they all tried reaching family at home, family abroad, and calls started to pour in for as long as the landlines worked in that area,” O'Shea said. “The most impressive fact that stemmed from it was how everybody reacts in a tragedy like that. They immediately turned to one another and to family,” he added
O'Shea’s reflection written carefully in black marker moved with the breeze on one of the frames nearby as he leaned on his cane.
“That kind of a message went around the world. And as I say, this reflects back to us as a global people, when in need, the normal instinct of the heart is to help and not to hurt,” O'Shea said.
The installation is open through Friday and may return to the park for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
