The gold pyramid of coolers makes a statement about street vendors and, if you look closely, about ICE.
Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez’s artist installation, entitled “Elevar La Cultura,” in Dewey Square near South Station.
Photos by Madison Lucchesi/Boston.com
An art installation made entirely out of Coleman coolers spray painted gold is turning heads near South Station.
The art piece, entitled “Elevar La Cultura” — and subtitled “A Tribute to Hustle, Heritage, and Survival” — is inspired by street food vendors and undocumented workers, according to the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, which is hosting the piece.
Created by the Brooklyn-based artist Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, the coolers are stacked to resemble a Mayan pyramid and are decorated with mirrors, marigold garland, and fake fruit.
“Blending ancestral symbolism with contemporary survival tools, the installation reclaims space and uplifts the beauty, resilience, and cultural power of marginalized communities,” the artist’s website says. “These coolers carry more than food or flowers. They carry stories. They carry legacy. They carry dreams.”
“I’ve got a lot of coolers in my basement, but I don’t see them as art,” one onlooker told Boston.com while looking at the installation Thursday. But the piece is “not a bad thing,” he added.
On the front of the piece, several coolers are full of statuettes from Catholicism and Asian and Latin cultures, alluding to the different origins of immigrant groups. Those coolers and the marigolds seem to resemble ofrendas, an altar to memorialize passed loved ones in Mexican culture.
An onlooker named Layla said the artwork is an “amazing” way to “pay homage to the working class.”
On the back, there is a painting of a mother breastfeeding a child, although it seems many onlookers aren’t walking around to the rear of the display.
While some people stopped to read the piece’s description and take a photo on Thursday, most passersby sped past the installation. As a result, many people likely missed the smaller details not mentioned in the piece’s description that challenge the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
The coolers marking the perimeter of the piece are marked with a faux official-looking sign reading “U.S. Inhumane and Cruelty Enforcement,” which would be abbreviated to ICE.
Some coolers at the front have discs of the U.S. seal in the cupholder. However, the seal’s inscription reads “U.S. Department of Stolen Land Security,” with ICE written on the eagle’s shield.
This comes after the Trump Administration hinted at taking control of South Station, across the street from the artwork, and ICE presence increased following Mayor Michelle Wu’s noncompliance with Homeland Security demands regarding cooperation with the agency.
“Elevar La Cultura” is on display in Boston until December, and then the piece will “move to sanctuary cities across the nation,” according to Marka27’s website.
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