Adel Abidin’s design for Sanctuary comes from a 2017 relief sculpture titled Deployed. Based on a photograph of soldiers en route to a military assignment, the work explores his musings about individual soldiers’ feelings as they head to battle: Are they afraid, worried, determined, hopeful as they move into the unknown? The uncanny similarity to images of crowded train cars and boats transporting political prisoners and refugees prompts correspondent thoughts about these displaced people. Abidin’s composition concurrently reveals the difficulty in reading the individuals—humanizing each soldier or refugee—and seeing them as real people with relatable personal experiences. Here, the soldiers’ expressions and gestures are elusive; their bodies and helmets meld together in a monochromatic sea. Yet the classical perspective and central vanishing point draw viewers into the scene, inviting a pause on each figure and urging contemplation of each soldier’s story.
