Fred Wilson created the mind forge art piece in Columbus park in Brooklyn, Nyc. It was built during the 19th century. Answering question 5, the art sculpture amplifies slavery realistically and metaphorically. As you can see in the cage there are people in cells. The cage represents chains as they were chained in boats after they were sold from Africa. The metaphoric aspect of the cage represents a stuck situation. There is no where for the people to go and they are stuck in their situation. It also represents mind enslavement as they feel they are stuck mentally while being stuck in a cage. The outer world outside of the cage represents freedom and the people are trapped from freedom.
Thanks for your post. Do you think the work starts a conversation with its surroundings at all? In other words, are the themes you raise in your post amplified by the sculpture's location and proximity to historical sculptures? The work is situated near 19th-century sculptures (the Columbus and the Beecher) but it was made very recently and installed in June 2022.