An image came to mind almost verbatim to what became the final drawing, including the drapes, the angels, the vast expanse of desert landscape, the brutalist bulk of the structure itself, and the grouping of individuals gathered over site plans in the right foreground. The debate over a wall, a rampart-a dam to hold back the “waves” of those washing north across our southern flanks-reached a tipping point for me in the Fall of 2018. I hope she would have appreciated the irony. The title is taken from the poem by Emma Lazarus. It’s large because the subject demanded it. It’s an allegorical take, rife with historical notes, temporal dissonance, and cultural references some of which I am still unpacking. “The New Colossus” is my entry into the conversation.

This structure stands as a colossal monument to man's greatest achievements, an enduring legacy and proud symbol of his greatness, visible from the darkest reaches of the universe long after we, the human species, are no more.' The planners and officials answered: You miss the point. Many asked the obvious question: Is it walling in or walling out? 'When the Wall was finally completed, after uncountable delays, many nations added their own segments and thus the structure stretched across whole continents and oceans, until it eventually encircled the globe.

The new colossus