The monumental work at the South Ferry Terminal by Doug and Mike Starn investigates the nature of objects and transformation using light and documentary sources. A fused glass wall reveals images of tree limbs and leaves in silhouette adapted from photographic imagery. These formations relate to the place above, Battery Park, the historic fortress and Manhattan's southern boundary. The glass brings light and poetry to the station. 

Companion pieces show a decayed over-scaled leaf that refers to the passage of time and links the park to its historical role. A map, that shows contemporary Manhattan and old New York as an overlay, is a beautiful mosaic and eloquent expression of the city's evolution, conveying to the throngs who use the station, a sense of its significant location. The artists designed a laser-cut stainless-steel fence to separate the entry from the paid section of the station; its leaf motif connects the art in the station with the surrounding environment.  

In South Ferry, their explorations of light and dark, nature and technology, come together in an evocative artwork. Its title refers, among other associations, to the South Ferry subway line, which becomes a network of splitting lines that travels through the changing landscape as seen in the map. As the artwork reveals, the City and its lifelines evolve in an organic form, as dropping leaves lead to new growth, the City keeps growing - and changing.

Doug and Mike Starn are identical twins who have been working collaboratively since they were thirteen. Graduates of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Starns first drew national attention at the 1987 Whitney Biennial for their conceptual approach to photography, exploring the interconnection and interdependence of organic systems and structures though painterly and sculptural photography. Their work combines various forms, such as sculpture, painting, video, and installation. They have received critical acclaim in many publications, their work has been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide and represented in numerous collections including at MoMA, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Jewish Museum, LACMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, SFMOMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and many others. Their work is collected and shown internationally and they have received, among many other honors, two National Endowment for the Arts Grant; The International Center for Photography’s Infinity Award for Fine Art Photography; and were artists in residency at NASA in the mid-1990s.