''Water's Soul'' is a sculpture along the

Hudson River Waterfront Walkway The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, also known as the Hudson River Walkway, is a promenade along the Hudson Waterfront in New Jersey. The ongoing and incomplete project located on Kill van Kull and the western shore of Upper New York Bay and t ...

in the Newport section of

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. It depicts a woman with closed eyes holding a finger to her lips in a state of silent contemplation and self-reflection. The work was conceived by

Jaume Plensa Jaume Plensa i Suñé (; born 23 August 1955) is a Spanish people, Catalan visual artist, sculptor, designer and engraver. He has also created opera sets, video projections and acoustic installations. Biography Plensa was born in Barcelona, Ca ...

and commissioned by LeFrak and

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

. Made of

polyester resin Polyester resins are synthetic resins formed by the reaction of dibasic organic acids and polyhydric alcohols. Maleic anhydride is a commonly used raw material with diacid functionality in unsaturated polyester resins. Unsaturated polyester r ...

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

, and marble dust, the work is white and stands tall. It faces the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

and the

New York City skyline {{Location map+ , Manhattan#New York City , float= center , width= 280 , caption = Location of all skyscrapers in New York City taller than {{convert, 650, ft, m, 0 , alt= , places = { ...

. It was created at Plensa's Barcelona studio and shipped in 23 containers, each feet long, to the site. Of the work, Plensa stated, "It is my wish for ''Water’s Soul'' to become an icon for Newport and a landmark that visually connects it with New York City across the Hudson River. Just as ''Water’s Soul'' acts to unite the city of Jersey City and New York City, we are reminded that water is the great public space that unites and embraces communities as well as people around the world." "The water, when it moves, makes a special sound, very special," Plensa said in an interview, suggesting the sculpture's message is "to keep silent...to listen to the profound noise of the water talking to us."

In popular culture

*2023: The statue features prominently in

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

series Harlan Coben's Shelter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Water's Soul Outdoor sculptures in New Jersey Monuments and memorials in New Jersey 2021 sculptures Buildings and structures in Jersey City, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Jersey City, New Jersey Statues in New Jersey Sculptures of women in New Jersey 2020 establishments in New Jersey Public art in Jersey City, New Jersey Sculptures by Jaume Plensa Colossal statues in the United States

In popular culture

See also

References