Kali in the Big Apple

The goddess of time and destruction was the inspira­tion for American indie artist Android Jones to visualise her spectacularly as a “fierce new avatar” entirely in light—with the Empire State Building as his canvas. His artwork was the last and undoubtedly the most mesmerising of images projected on the iconic skyscraper in mid-August to draw the attention of New Yorkers, and the world, to the dangers of ecological annihilation caused by human greed. The arresting Projecting Change public art exhibition was the brainchild of Oscar award-winning documentary filmmaker Louie Psihoyos, in collaboration with San Francisco-based tech platform provider Obscura Digital. It featured a series of nameless endangered creatures besides Cecil, the widely loved lion of Zimbabwe, who was killed recently by a hunter. The riveting images and their dramatic setting stopped people on their tracks, whether in person or as consumers of news, serving the project’s stated intention of drawing attention to the alarming rate at which spe­cies are becoming extinct, and inviting support for the cause of sustainable development. The goddess of darkness inspired her followers to fight darkness in turn.