The Writing on the Wall — The High Line
The Writing on the Wall, a public installation of essays, poems, and letters written by incarcerated people worldwide, was installed on New York's High Line in 2020, designed by Manuel Miranda with Mass Design Group and conceived by Dr. Baz Dreisinger and artist Hank Willis Thomas.
| Venue | The High Line |
|---|---|
| Project type | Installation |
| Status | Completed |
| Year completed | 2020 |
| Technologies | acrylic panel display system |
Credits
| Firm | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|
| manuel-miranda-practice | Exhibit Design | Lead designer Manuel Miranda, with Fred Pirlot; also referred to in press coverage as Manuel Miranda Project. |
| MASS Design Group | Architecture | Architecture and graphics |
| MASS Design Group | Environmental Graphics & Wayfinding | |
| chemistry-creative | Fabrication |
Description
The installation recreates the scale and texture of prison cell walls in a public sphere, layering handwritten and typeset contributions onto modular acrylic panels evoking a palimpsest of incarcerated writers' voices. Conceived by Dr. Baz Dreisinger (John Jay College) and artist Hank Willis Thomas, the piece has traveled to multiple sites; the SEGD-recognized New York installation on the High Line won a 2021 SEGD Honor Award in the Public Installation category.