Walls are Built to be Broken

Each wall featured three hourglasses encased in glass circles. The hourglasses timed 5 minutes and were accompanied by a thought provoking question. This image shows the hourglass that was a part of the “RESENTMENT” wall. Located at Grand Park in Los Angeles, California. Sep. 22, 2019 (Fernando Duran/The Corsair)

Architect, artist and designer Candy Chang, alongside writer and graphic designer James A. Reeves, are responsible for creating the Annenberg Space for Photography’s first ever public art installation to hit the streets of Los Angeles. Three different walls made up the installation at different landmarks across the city. 

Each wall represented a different emotion; Judgment, Resentment and Doubt. The walls were intended to mirror the internal barriers people build up inside themselves, with the intention of evoking moments of self-reflection from viewers. The installations acted as a preview to the Annenberg's upcoming exhibit, "WALLS: Defend, Divide and the Divine," set to open on October 5th.

While each wall described a different emotion, they all featured an hourglass encased in a glass circle accompanied by an introspective question. This was the interactive component of the exhibit; people could rotate the circle in order to flip the hourglass and let the sand trickle out. Each hourglass kept time for five minutes with instructions that read, “Five minutes of contemplation.”

"Who do you judge unfairly and why?"

One of the three "Light the Barricades" art installments around Los Angeles. This one being titled "JUDGMENT" and located in Exposition Park. (Fernando Duran/The Corsair)

The first wall, Judgment, was located at the Natural History Museum. While many visitors in the crowd were at the museum for Dinosaur Day and not for the installation, the wall caught the eyes of some attendees. The wall maintained a contemplative tone with a fable that read, “We climbed away from our bruises and failings until we could touch the clouds … the height makes us giddy until the temperature drops, the air grows thin, and nobody notices we are gone.”

"What are you afraid of?"

The “DOUBT” wall at the Annenberg Community Beach House was a dark contrast to the sandy, sunny beach day. (Fernando Duran/The Corsair)

Boogie boards, volleyball games, swing sets and pop music were the setting for the second wall, “Doubt." Located at the Annenberg Community Beach House, a venue that generally draws a demographic that is mostly made up of families contributed to a smaller crowd turnout.

“There are a lot of children around here and they don’t always have five minutes to contemplate,” said Beach Recreation Leader Scott LeWinter.

"What will it take for you to forgive?"

One of the three "Light the Barricades" art installments around Los Angeles. This one being titled "RESENTMENT" and located in Grand Park. (Fernando Duran/The Corsair)

The third wall, “Resentment,” overlooked the Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain in Grand Park, where the sound of children splashing in the water below mingled with the electronic beats of the park's weekly Sunday Sessions DJ set. Although the wall contrasted with the throngs of families spending their day enjoying the festivities, the wall unexpectedly led some visitors to think introspectively. Los Angeles resident and Film Location Manager Kokayi Ampah reflected on this question and the power resentment has had in his life.

“Through being sober for 33 years you learn to get rid of resentments, if you have resentments you go face those or if you know people who you think might have a resentment with you, you go and make those amends,” said Ampah.

The "Light the Barricades" installation was a precursor to the Annenberg Space for Photography’s upcoming exhibit, "WALLS: Defend, Divide and the Divine," the walls were inspired by the theme of physical and emotional barriers. The upcoming exhibit is intended to act as a commentary on how societies have interacted with walls throughout history and how this relationship has changed over time.