Harambe Statue Erected At New York’s Wall Street, Facing Up To ‘Charging Bull’
Image via Jason Miklacic / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
On Monday, a gorilla took to New York and went head to head with Wall Street’s Charging Bull. No, this isn’t the plot for a King Kong sequel, but the gist of a new installation in Bowling Green Park.
The seven-foot-tall bronze sculpture is modeled after Harambe, the internet-famous western lowland gorilla from the Cincinnati Zoo who was shot after a three-year-old fell into his enclosure. It is positioned directly opposite the bull, a representation of America’s can-do attitude, with the latter now surrounded by 10,000 bananas.
BREAKING: 7-Foot-Tall Harambe Ape Statue has been built in front of Wall Street's Charging Bull, which is now covered in bananas. pic.twitter.com/n3xBxGpofg
— Mr. Whale (@CryptoWhale) October 18, 2021
Commissioned by the founders of upcoming social network Sapien.Network, the display is meant to depict wealth disparity and how Wall Street has gone “bananas,” no longer addressing people’s needs.
After the installation’s run, the bananas will be donated to New York food banks and community fridge, News 4 reports.
Harambe, according to Sapien.Network’s co-founders Robert Giometti, Tejay Aluru, and Ankit Bhatia, symbolizes the millions of people vulnerable in the hands of the wealthy in the US capitalist system. In contrast, their in-development platform is “dedicated to putting the needs and welfare of human beings first.”
Giometti stressed that the statue isn’t about “rejecting capitalism or the current system” but illustrates its position in “the current future” and “letting them empower more groups of people,” he told News 4.
“Harambe is a representation of something that lets us look at more than just ourselves,” the co-founder added. “What are we aspiring to [be] as people? It’s about connecting. A simple gesture of giving a banana builds community. As a society, we need to come together. We can’t keep fighting to come together.”
WATCH: A statue of Harambe, the gorilla who was killed at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2016, has been placed in downtown Manhattan, facing off against “Charging Bull,” surrounded by bananas. pic.twitter.com/aQzjSLU83n
— Cheddar News 🧀 (@cheddar) October 18, 2021
[via NBC New York, cover image via Jason Miklacic / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)]
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