"Rockaway" is artist Zach Horn’s harmonious homage to the New York City coastline. The dramatic installation, spread across five screens, was created using 24 individual hand-painted images of rolling waves, which the artist scanned and layered into video-editing software. As the two-minute piece progresses, a subtle change in the color of the waves signals the passing of the sun and thus the passage of time. The film is a tribute to his family’s century-long connection to the Rockaways, where his grandmother grew up, his mother learned to ride a bike, and the artist’s youngest son recently learned to ride a two-wheeler. The home where these memories were first created is just minutes from the crashing waves of Rockaway beach, making the melodic movement of water an enduring symbol of how, as the artist describes, a family keeps time.

The work is presented by MTA Arts & Design with technical support from ANC Sports.

Zach Horn (b. Philadelphia) is an interdisciplinary artist focused on divergent methodologies in painting, installation, and stop-motion animation. In his studio practice, he portrays local labor unions and familiar objects, like BBQ grills. His work is assertively political and intimately heartfelt. Both the advocative and humanist themes are personal. He received his BA from the University of Pennsylvania and his MFA from Boston University. His work has been exhibited in numerous museums, galleries, and academic institutions throughout the United States and abroad. He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and three ebullient sons.