Ai Weiwei's Camouflage, whose inauguration is scheduled for September 10th (The date coincides with the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly and the anniversary of the end of World War II), is conceived as the inaugural project of the Art X Freedom program. The intervention consists of a large camouflage netting suspended over the park by a scaffolding structure, spanning the narrowest point of the island. The intervention establishes a dialogue between the solemn geometry of the memorial and the haunting resonances of camouflage, a symbol of concealment, protection, and also conflict.
Weiwei proposes a critical reflection on the current state of the freedoms proclaimed by Roosevelt, linking the motif of camouflage to the tension between the visible and the concealed. According to the artist himself, camouflage can be both a method of protection and a mechanism of deception, and its use in this context seeks to raise essential questions about what should be protected and what truths need to be brought to light. In an era marked by a tense political climate, which questions freedoms acquired over decades, the installation challenges visitors to consider freedom not as a fact, but as an open, evolving, and endangered issue.
As part of the work, the public will be able to write thoughts or wishes on ribbons and tie them to the net, thus incorporating individual stories into the collective fabric of the installation. This participatory dimension transforms the piece into a living organism, capable of mutating over time as new voices join in.
The combination of Camouflage's temporary structure and the monumentality of Kahn's park creates an overlap between the ephemeral and the permanent. Weiwei's work joins a growing artistic program on Roosevelt Island, which in recent years has included offerings such as CJ Hendry's Flower Market, brought to life by the large turnout.
