Multiple proposals

Tuan Andrew Nguyen (b. 1976, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

The Light Shines Through The Universe (pictured above)
This work is a 28 feet tall sandstone replica of one of the 6^th century Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. The figure’s hands, cast from brass artillery shells, are set in a mudra that expresses fearlessness in compassion. Before its destruction, locals called the larger Buddha “Salsal,” which means “The Light Shines through the Universe.”

United We Fall Or Remember The Future Forgotten
The sculpture is a totem-like ascension of twelve of the most endangered animals in the world, realized in blackened stainless steel and polished to a mirror finish to a height of almost 40 feet. The animals serve as a reminder of the current world fragile balance and rapid collapse. It is a monument at once of warning, of memorial, and of prophecy.