BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston’s famous ducks were the centerpiece for a local artist’s newest installation protesting America’s treatment of migrants.
In the middle of the night, Karyn Alzayer wrapped each duck in a reflective, mylar emergency blanket before placing each of them in a cage designed to resemble the detention centers that house thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the United States.
Alzayer referred the mallards as “Boston’s quintessential immigrant family.”
The classic children’s book “Make Way for Ducklings” was penned in 1941 by two-time Caldecott Medal-winning author Robert McCloskey and follows a family of ducks around the city of Boston.
Alzayer said she was inspired by the story to create the piece.
“In the book, they moved here for a better life, they were looking for a place to stay. And if that were to happen during this climate today, this would be their fate,” she said.
Constructing the installation had a profound effect on the artist who said the image forced her to reflect on the “wrongness” of the matter.
“Holding those mylar blankets was really what made it real for me. They may provide warmth, but they do so in the coldest way possible.”
Alzayer hoped her installation would cause viewers to think about the issue from a different perspective.
“I just think that there hasn’t been a whole lot of empathy for migrants, most of whom tend to be Hispanic,” she said. “I thought that maybe if there was a different take on it, that the same thought of distress on baby animals might cause someone to think about it differently.”
Her husband Daud snapped a photo and posted it to Facebook.
Later on in the day, Alzayer said she went back to the Public Gardens and was surprised to see the cages and blankets had been removed.
“I think it’s interesting that the ducks can wear Easter bonnets, Red Sox hats, and Pat’s jerseys, but when it comes to what their real fate might be in this country as immigrants, it’s erased pretty quickly rather than opening up a conversation about that.”
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