Due to heavy rain in the forecast, tonight’s High Line Tour: From Freight to Flowers has been canceled. We look forward to seeing you on a future tour!
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Heather Phillipson
Mama
Heather Phillipson (b. 1978, London, United Kingdom) lives and works in London.
Mama juxtaposes New York’s prehistoric past with its volatile technological future. Featuring an American mastodon—the state’s official fossil—reimagined as a giant, melting pink candle, the extinct mammal serves as a proxy launchpad for a rocket-shaped candle blasting from its back. Mama acts as both a votive for prehistoric loss and a beacon for the “epoch-defining” environmental and technological shifts currently reshaping our world, particularly the rampant technological experimentation and intense activity in the airspace and aerospace sectors.
Please share your thoughts by September 8, 2026
Can you imagine this artwork on the Plinth? Why or why not? Is this proposal a good fit for the High Line? For New York City? For our time? Your comments will be shared with High Line Art's curatorial team and will help inform their selection of the shortlist of artists for the seventh and eighth commissions. Include your email if you'd like to stay up-to-date on the Plinth process.
Support
Major support for the High Line Plinth is provided by members of the High Line Plinth Committee and contemporary art leaders committed to realizing major commissions and engaging in the public success of the Plinth. Learn more about the High Line Plinth Committee.
Renderings courtesy of the artist.