At the southernmost point of Roosevelt Island, in the heart of New York City’s East River, a monumental bronze bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt is now covered in a shroud of netting. Camouflage by Ai WeiWei was unveiled on September 10, coinciding with the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly and the anniversary of the end of World War II. The installation is part of a new public art initiative called Art X Freedom launched by the Four Freedoms Park Conservancy.
Roosevelt Island was renamed in honor of the 32nd President of the United States, in 1973, the same year modernist architect Louis Kahn was commissioned to design a memorial to Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms”: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Decades later, Kahn’s vision was realized in Four Freedoms State Park, where trees form a triangular approach to the powerful centerpiece. Art X Freedom was inspired by Roosevelt’s ideals and Kahn’s architectural legacy, meant to transform the park into a platform for artistic expression, civic engagement, and dialogue around freedom and social justice.
The 3.5-acre memorial has been transformed into an open-air pavilion by Weiwei’s installation which overlays the park’s modernist geometries with a fabric of concealment and exposure. The artist incorporates animal motifs into the netting, referencing Roosevelt Island’s history as a refuge for wildlife and abandoned pets while underscoring the lingering effects of human conflict.
Camouflage culminates at the park’s endpoint, where an elevated architectural structure rises above the granite walls, overlooking FDR’s bust and the engraved “Four Freedoms.” The sanctuary is topped with a neon sign bearing a Ukrainian proverb: “For some people, war is war, for others, war is the dear mother.” In practice, though, the glowing scrawl is an awkward flourish that undercuts the solemnity of its intended message.
The granite embankments wrapped in Weiwei’s netting produce a jarring contrast with Kahn’s crisp geometries, and the overall effect, meant to evoke vulnerability and protection, risks coming across less as sanctuary than as makeshift canopy.
In the spirit of discourse, visitors are invited to tie ribbons inscribed with personal reflections on freedom to the netting, slowly weaving personal contributions into the collective artwork.
“Artists have paved the way in activism and advocacy throughout history,” said Howard Axel, CEO of Four Freedoms Park Conservancy. “It is an honor to collaborate with Ai Weiwei on Camouflage, which transforms this presidential memorial and state park into a vibrant platform for discussion and reflection on the enduring impacts of war and human conflict.”
Following Weiwei’s installation, Art X Freedom will commission future artists to design for the site, selected through a juried RFP process.
The installation is now on view through November 10.
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