Ai Weiwei designs large-scale camouflage installation for New York

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has designed a large-scale installation with camouflage netting for the launch of the Art X Freedom public art program on Roosevelt Island in New York City.

The Camouflage installation will consist of a swath of camouflage netting that stretches over a bust of US President Franklin D Roosevelt via a scaffolding structure at the narrow point of FDR Four Freedoms State Park designed by modernist architect Louis Kahn.

Weiwei’s installation will explore the connotations of the camouflage motif, often associated with war, in connection to the “the fundamental human freedoms” championed in the 1941 State of the Union address by Roosevelt – freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

“The concept of this project is rooted in the English term camouflage defined in the Oxford Dictionary as both a means of disguise and concealment and as a tool for creating illusions to protect or to mislead,” said Weiwei in an artist statement.

“The artwork uses the symbolic nature of camouflage to spark a dialogue about what needs protection and what requires the removal of disguise to reveal truth. This is a challenging question, but addressing it is essential.”

A rendering of the installation shows a gabled scaffolding structure covered in camouflage material. According to the team, the camouflage motif will consist of silhouettes of cats, an homage to the Wildlife Freedom Foundation animal shelter located nearby on Roosevelt Island.

“Observations over time reveal that in the wake of human disasters be it pandemics, wars, or environmental crises, animals – particularly those closely connected to humans, such as cats – often suffer profoundly,” said Weiwei.

“By incorporating cat patterns, the work reminds viewers that while human beings face crises of their own making, animals bear the brunt of these consequences, entirely innocent yet deeply affected.”

Underneath the scaffolding, an interactive element will allow visitors to print reflections or wishes onto ribbons and attach them to the surrounding netting.

The installation is set to debut in September 2025 as part of the Art X Freedom program by local organisation Four Freedoms Park Conservancy.

The program will commission site-specific installations on the island that “interrogate issues of social justice and freedom”.

Recently, local designer CJ Hendry created a “flower market” installation at the park that was relocated overnight due to overcrowding and Ai Weiwei told Dezeen why he thinks all objects have political significance in an exclusive interview.

The photography is by Iwan Baan unless otherwise stated.

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