New York City is a place defined by constant noise and fast movement. Starting next spring, a 27-foot-tall Buddha statue will be installed on the High Line Plinth to change that atmosphere.
This 27-foot-tall sculpture is the latest installation on the High Line Plinth, towering over the city as a beacon of reflection. Created by Vietnamese artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen, it represents a profound intersection of ancient spirituality and modern history.
Titled ‘The Light That Shines Through the Universe’, the piece acts as a medium for healing and ancestral memory. More than just a statue, it represents an architectural prayer offered to a city that never stops moving.
Image Source: Art Asia Pacific
Historical Acupuncture: Healing Global Wounds
Tuan Andrew Nguyen describes his creative process as “historical acupuncture,” a method of using art to target and release the pressure of buried traumas.
By placing this massive Buddha in one of the most active public spaces in the world, Nguyen addresses the deep-seated wounds of war, displacement, and erased histories.
The sculpture serves as a physical needle intended to stimulate the collective memory of the public, forcing a confrontation with the ghosts of the past. In a city built on constant reinvention, this work insists on the importance of looking back to move forward.
Image Source: The High Line
Weapons into Wisdom: The Alchemy of Brass
The most poignant detail of the sculpture lies in its hands, which are not merely carved but recast from a darker history.
Nguyen utilized brass artillery shells recovered from war-torn landscapes, melting down the literal tools of death to forge sacred gestures of compassion. This transformation represents a literal and figurative alchemy, turning the debris of violence into a silent blessing for New York City.
Through this act of recycling and redemption, the artist proves that even materials born of destruction can be repurposed to serve a higher, more peaceful calling.
Image Source: The Collector
A Global Refugee: Resilience in Sandstone
Carved in sandstone, the figure pays a haunting tribute to the Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan, which were destroyed by the Taliban over two decades ago.
Nguyen reimagines the spirit of those lost monuments as a “global refugee,” traveling from a workshop in Vietnam to find a temporary home in the heart of Manhattan. This journey mirrors the displacement of millions, turning the sculpture into a symbol of cultural endurance.
It stands as a towering promise that while physical stone can be shattered by hate, the resilience of our shared human heritage remains fundamentally unbroken.
Learn more about Tuan Andrew Nguyen here:
