Daniel Agdag, Lattice, 2022, cardboard, trace paper and timber, Evelyn Lewis Campus, Staten Island ​

Lattice is a site-specific artwork created by Daniel Agdag for the lobby of the Evelyn King Campus, Staten Island. Meticulously crafted by hand using cardboard, trace paper and timber, it depicts an extraordinary roller coaster with steep inclines, dramatic drops and dipping valleys. The slow banking twists and turns, long downward drops and dramatic skyward rises are intended to evoke the real, thrilling feelings of excitement, surprise, magic and whimsy of riding a roller coaster and serve as a metaphor for life.

Dispersed throughout are detailed moments that set the artwork in motion -- a hot air balloon floats above the ride, a roller coaster car descends into a flat, calm section while another climbs a turn in anticipation of a mysterious and unknown dive. The sculpture also contains references to the history of the school site as the Peter Wiederer mirror factory, as well as the Staten Island Range Lighthouse, local architecture and the borough’s maritime heritage.

The title, Lattice, refers to the hundreds of individual stems and beams working together to form a beautiful lattice of strength for the structure. It is a visual example of individuals working together to support one another and to create lasting communities.