Photos By Gail

It’s fun to discover cool public art in and around the City on my daily adventures, even when that art has already been in place for years! For example, I just had my first encounter with XO World, a monumental sculpture located on West Street in Lower Manhattan, adjacent to the World Trade Center.  As you can see, it is pretty sweet. Let’s unpack this thing, shall we?

Intended to celebrate World Peace Day (September 21st), the sculpture was installed in its current location in 2021 as part of a project called Share the Love created by artist Daniel Anderson.

XO World — standing 12 feet high and 24 feet long — was inspired by the game of jacks, which is played by many cultures worldwide and dates to approximately 2,000 years ago. The “X” — or Jack — with crossed arms and closed fists attached to the spoke represents love in universal sign language, and the “O”– or ball — is the globe.

XO World was  funded by Anita Durst of the Durst Organization and her organization Chashama, which partners with property owners to transform unused real estate into gallery and studio spaces for artists. A companion piece entitled XO Play, depicting  a group children playing a game of  jacks, was installed at the same time inside at the Oculus, but I didn’t  investigate to see if it is still there.

At the time of its installation, XO World was meant be on display for a minimum of two years — and it is a few month past that window now, so who knows how long it will be there. XO Play was scheduled travel to other venues throughout Manhattan, so I am not sure where that is at the moment, but all signs point to it still being inside the Oculus, possible near the PATH trains. Go have a look at tell me what you find out.