June 15, 2022 by Erika Lindsay Leave a Comment

In partnership with the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, the final public artwork of The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway Ribbon of Light by Horatio Hung-Yan Law, has been installed in Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park.    

Ribbon of Light is a series of three laminated and illuminated glass sculptures along a landscaped pathway adjacent to the main trail in the northeast corner of Cal Anderson Park.  

Inspired by the words of poets impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the artworks of Ribbon of Light represent “pieces of the sky that have broken into sculptural fragments and fallen to the ground, allowing the illumination of our communal mourning and embodying the ephemeral, changing, and shifting nature of grief.” 

“The AMP is one of the most significant collection of artworks to enter the city in recent years. The histories, stories, and people that the AMP represents are those who we need to elevate in our understanding of how they champion their lives and those of the people they love. The work of Horatio Law and that of the other AMP artists, individually, collectively, and through this amazing collaboration, is significant to the arts sectors and its diverse communities.” 

Park visitors are invited to walk along the pathway and encounter the three sculptures – Monolith, Serpentine, and Lambda – that provide places of reflection and contemplation.   

A dedication for the artwork is scheduled for Thursday, June 30, at 8 p.m. and will include short remarks by the artist, Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center, and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.   

“Ribbon of Light as part of The AMP was intended as a place of remembrance and quiet contemplation, and I am excited to be able to welcome the community to interact with the new space and to discover the hidden messages within the sculptures.”

The augmented reality app created for The AMP, which includes the other AMP artworks, soon to include Ribbon of Light, is now available to download. It provides a multi-layered experience of narratives, images, and interactive experiences around each of the physical artworks as well as a virtual tour. The Names Tree is an interactive AR tree that stands as a digital memorial to those that have been lost to AIDS as the deceased’s names are recited in perpetuity. The developer will be onsite at the dedication to help guide attendees in using it.   

Horatio Hung-Yan Law was born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents and moved to the US at age 16. With this multi-cultural background, he has developed an artistic practice whose subjects include the Chinese immigrant’s experience, reinterpretations of cultural icons, trans-cultural adoptions, the Iraq War, and the current culture of consumption. His work often tackles weighty subjects with ephemeral and unexpected materials, creating quiet, conflicting, meditative, and evocative works. 

The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway is a project that offers visitors opportunities for meaningful participation in the ongoing fight to end HIV/AIDS and discrimination that can arise in a community during a crisis. It will be a reminder of our collective need to be active, remain vigilant, and stand ready to fight scapegoating and discrimination however and whenever they may arise. A passionate group of volunteers and community leaders, including people living with HIV, people of color, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, are working to make The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway a reality. The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway is supported by the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Seattle Parks Foundation, State of Washington, Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center, Pride Foundation, and individual donors. 

Filed Under: Art Beat, Equity, Public Art Tagged With: horatio law, Public Art, the aids memorial pathway, the amp

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