SPECIAL PHOTO EXHIBIT DIGS DEEP INTO THE WORLD OF SANDHOGS
URBAN MINERS THE SUBJECT OF WEEK LONG INSTALLATION AT
VANDERBILT HALL IN GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL
(New York, NY) December, 2005 - The Sandhog Project, a photographic and video exploration of the unseen, perilous subterranean world of Sandhogs – urban minors currently 800 feet below Manhattan tunneling the 60 mile long City Water Tunnel #3 - will run from January 9-14 2006, 7 am-7 pm in Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall.
The Sandhog Project – the first solo exhibition in New York by award-winning photographer Gina LeVay, includes 16 recent life-size portraits of the miners mounted on cylinder light boxes. These 8 ft. tall columns create a central passage to the scale-accurate video projection of the 12 ft. diameter water tunnel. The continuous moving tunnel image, shot in real-time and from the perspective of the mining train, simulates the sandhogs’ daily journey through the subterranean
labyrinth on a typical stretch of the water tunnel.
“The Sandhog Project exhibit reveals this essential and concurrent, yet largely unknown art form of mining amidst the modernized city,” said LeVay, who has been documenting the vibrant subculture of Sandhogs for more than two years.” The content and scale of the installation provides a rare portal to the unseen characters and systems of underground New York, and invites the public to view the daily life of Gotham from a different perspective.”
This multi-media installation with its powerful towering images of the excavation and the tunnel sounds and voices of the miners, uniquely introduces the public to the legacy and sacrifices of these miners now working to re-enforce the two decrepit, existing tunnels and prevent a catastrophic
water shortage in the city. Through creating a diverse visual investigation and accessible venues, LeVay’s goal has been to engage visitors’ imagination as they discover this interrelated sphere of New York, while representing a necessary connection between public art and the city’s public work
projects.
The featured environmental, portrait, and reportage images and video are part of a larger collection of work, which is featured on The Sandhog Project website, www.sandhogproject.com. Print sales are available through ClampArt Gallery, 646.230.0020.
Gina LeVay was born in Chicago and holds an MFA in Photo and Related Media at School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Her work has been exhibited in New York and Europe, most recently at Photo España in Madrid, where she was featured as a top international discovery of the 2005
festival. Her photography has been published in several national and international publications. Editorial and advertising clients include Hearst, Time Inc., Rodale, IFC Networks, La
Repubblica, and Mac Group USA. LeVay was selected as one of Photo District News’ top 30 emerging photographers for 2005, and a grant recipient from The Andrew Rhodes Fund for Young Artists at the Visual Arts Foundation. LeVay is also an alumnus and current staff member of The Eddie Adams Workshop. She currently lives in New York City