A new sculpture made from the wreckage of the Twin Towers was unveiled at the Ground Zero Museum Workshop in Chelsea Thursday afternoon.
Created by New York City-based artist Marie-Hélène, the artwork, titled “Metamorphosis,” incorporates original steel and window glass from the World Trade Center, and features hydrographic transfer of image – a technique that allows the artist to apply a printed design to a three-dimensional object.
Museum curator Gary Marlon Suson said 33 percent of the proceeds from the unveiling event will be donated to the FDNY Widows and Children’s Fund. Suson served as the Uniformed Firefighters Association’s official photographer at Ground Zero for seven months after the 9/11 terror attacks.
“It’s surprising to realize that it has been 16 years since the 9/11 catastrophe. And more and more people I meet forget what really happened surrounding America’s worst terrorist attack in U.S. history,” said Suson, who is also an honorary FDNY battalion chief. “As challenging as it is to keep the museum’s doors open, it’s minuscule compared to the challenges faced by the victims’ families on a daily basis. My goal is to keep the memory alive through images and artwork so that our world doesn’t forget.”
The unveiling also featured the debut of a companion documentary about the making of the sculpture, called “Remembrance.” The film was directed by Nicolas Lopez and produced by Annie Flocco, both award-winning filmmakers.
The artwork’s unveiling also fell on the 12th anniversary of the museum’s opening on Sept. 7, 2005. The museum specifically highlights Ground Zero’s “recovery period,” helping visitors to understand what it was like for firefighters and rescue workers who were on the front lines through the use of images, artifacts and more.
The Ground Zero Museum Workshop will also be donating 33 percent of its ticket sales to the to the FDNY Widows and Children’s Fund on Sept. 11. The price of entry is $25 and it includes an interactive tour of the museum.
