"I wanted people to see...what that might look like."From: NewNowNext
A West Hollywood artist who erected an art installation of 50 mannequins on his roof Sunday in honor of the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando is receiving national attention for his powerful piece.
The piece, titled “No One Is Safe,” is a sobering visualization of the life lost when a gunman opened fire in the gay club earlier that morning, killing 49 and committing the deadliest mass murder in U.S. history.
“I put 50 bodies on the roof of my house so that people could drive by and see what 50 human bodies looks like. Piled up,” the artist, ChadMichael Morrisette told NBC Los Angeles. The bodies represent the 49 victims plus the gunman, who was killed by police.
“This affected me so much. I wanted people to see as the biggest shooting in American history, what that might look like, and I have the ability to show them that,” he said.
Morrisette told the LA Times that he felt emotional stepping over the bodies, which are each painted with a different face, while he was creating the piece. Each time he did, he reflected on the sheer terror each of the victims must have felt that night.
The piece has had the same effect on many passersby on the road next to Morrisette’s home.
“People are moved. They stop and get out of their vehicles. They do U-turns. One person just bowed to me as they walked by, out of respect,” Morrisette said. “Stopped cars sit at the light and have a moment to reflect, and those are the faces I like to watch. That’s when I know I’ve actually caused someone to think about something.”
He added: “It doesn’t matter if it’s a church or a movie theater or a gay club or an elementary school. All of us at this point should be able to relate to it. I don’t care what you say about all this we cannot have 50 Americans killed in a nightclub and continue to do nothing about it.”
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