Axis Mundi

Coronavirus Light Memorial for Hart Island, Bronx NYC

"Numinous is a concept derived from the Latin numen meaning "arousing spiritual or religious emotion; mysterious or awe-inspiring".

'Numinous' is a proposed immersive light installation consisting of twelve (12) powerful light beacons (7kW) arrayed in a 250-yard grid across Hart Island. The intention is to hold an annual tribute event to raise awareness of the significance of the island, it’s fascinating history and largely unknown role in New York City.

“Hart Island has always exerted a visceral gravitational pull for me. It is literally an ‘isle of the dead’ - one thinks of the famous painting by Arnold Bocklin. It is strictly off limits to the public. The intention of the project is to make a sacred space created with light, that would honor the interned, the known and unknown.” stated John Beckmann, the founder of Axis Mundi.

History:
Hart Island measures approximately 1 mile long by 0.33 miles wide, where more than one million bodies are buried in unmarked graves. Beginning as a Civil War prison and training site and later a psychiatric hospital, the location became the repository for New York City’s unclaimed dead. The island’s mass graves are a microcosm of New York history, from the 1822 burial crisis to casualties of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and victims of the AIDS and coronavirus epidemics. The dead are buried in trenches. Babies are placed in coffins, which are stacked in groups of 1,000, measuring five coffins deep and usually in twenty rows. Adults are placed in larger pine boxes placed according to size, and are stacked in sections of 150, measuring three coffins deep in two rows. There are seven sizes of coffins, which range from 1 to 7 feet long. Each box is labeled with an identification number, the person's age, ethnicity, and the place where the body was found.

Design + Concept: John Beckmann
Illustrations: Nicole Girdo
Consultants: SpaceCannon, Italy

Special thanks: to Melinda Hunt of the Hart Island Project, councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, councilman Mark Levine, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio for signing the recently passed bill (november 2019) transferring the jurisdiction of the island from the NYC Department of Correction to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation