Prayer booths on streets of New York
They look like telephone booths and the people using them are trying to contact someone ... but rather than using a phone the 'callers' have got their hands together and their eyes closed.
Oh yeah, and the 'someone' they are trying to get a one-to-one with is the big guy upstairs with the beard and a propensity for smiting.
A pair of prayer booths have been installed on sidewalks in NY allowing New Yorkers to seek comfort and advice from God.
They include a flip-down kneelers and users are encouraged to stop what they are doing engage in prayer.
Artist Dylan Mortimer who created the public prayer booths said: "My goal is to spark dialogue about a topic often avoided, and often treated cynically by the contemporary art world."
"I employ the visual language of signage and public information systems, using them as a contemporary form of older religious communication systems: stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, church furniture, etc.
"I balance humor and seriousness, sarcasm and sincerity, in a way that bridges a subject matter that is often presented as heavy or difficult," added the recent graduate of NY’s School of Visual Arts Masters (MFA) program.
Anyone planning on using the booth should remember that if you have your eyes closed and you hands raised for too long in NY you are likely to open them to find your wallet, bag and watch have disappeared.
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