About the Exhibition
For Waiting for the Fish to Bite, Gina Wendkos (b.1954, Florence, Italy) has created nine original figurines: a girl, a couch, a house, an arch, a box, a brick floor, a door, a fish, and a ribbon; hundreds of which have been cast and painted. When placed around the circumference of the fountain at the center of Washington Square Park for this one-day project, a different object on each step, they transform the grey stone structure into a uniquely dynamic creation combining both color and theater.
In addition to the plaster objects, which include little girls in party dresses, there are eight real little blonde girls in pink party dresses who will “wait” from 12 until 2pm. They will signal the dismantling of the work by giving away the first figurines to the public. Wendkos’ sculpture pieces are, in a way, the sincerest form of public art as they combine participation in a unique event with a tangible object that can be kept as a memento of the shared experience.
“Waiting for the Fish to Bite is about waiting,” says the artist. “Waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for your hair to dry, waiting for the mail to come, waiting for the glue to set, waiting for an interview, waiting for that special date. Anything anticipated involves some waiting and my piece is about those awkward, exciting moments.” Wendkos described the purpose of the piece as “involving the public in a piece in a more memorable and effective way than just as spectators. The piece functions in two levels: being transitional, since most of the piece is given away, and as semi-permanent, as the school of fish will unobtrusively remain.”