Times Square Taxi: God’s Medallion

by Yona Verwer

City Charms Collection

Limited Edition of 50

22 x 16 inches

200 usd + shipping

 

 

 

Artist’s Description:

Times Square Taxi, God’s Medallion features New York’s busiest intersection in the theatre district. A taxi races through the streets while the surrounding buildings and billboards are illuminated with hamsa shapes.

The title alludes to both a medallion, a permit issued by a governmental agency to operate a taxicab, and wearable amulets. God can be found everywhere… including Times Square.

About the series:

I create amulet images that I have designed for noted American landmarks to depict, address and counter the continuing post-9/11 sense of insecurity & vulnerability. This series is a wake-up call after an attack that fractured our world.

These City Charms function as “protection devices” for iconic structures in U.S. cities, each one featuring a well-known American architectural benchmark. Times Square, The Statue of Liberty, the Woolworth Building & the Manhattan Bridge are among the locations in NYC.

Amulets were traditionally made to be worn or placed in locations to promote healing. protect against evil & to bring good luck. My apotropaic images consist of photographs of objects which I assemble only for the duration of the photo session: the originals no longer exist, emphasizing the potential fragility of the subjects, while the amulet / photographs themselves aim to invoke protection from terrorism for these “terror-watch-list” sites.

Nowadays the phrase “tikkun olam” remains connected with human responsibility for fixing what is wrong with the world. It also appears to respond to a profound sense of deep rupture in the universe, which speaks as much to the post-Holocaust era as it did in the wake of the 9/11 attack.

In this series I have continued working with a variety of juxtapositions in intent, action & result: the ornate shapes and styles of old-fashioned jewelry in contrast with images of urban structures;  the magical and religious aspects of amulets & charms in relation to our personal and national battle against the banality of terror.

More info on the artist’s City Charms series here.