Peep Show

Outdoor art is popping up all over DC for 5x5, a temporary collective of five curators, each exhibiting five artists until December. This second rendition of 5x5 (the first was in Spring 2012) hopes to engage local residents through free events and interactive pieces in DC's eight wards. On one site at the intersection of I and 4th Streets SW, Jonathan Fung's Peep stands out from a distance. A bright pink shipping container designed to resemble a lurid neon display invites visitors to peer through three peep holes. Inside, however, children's toy blocks hang in the darkness, some plastered with images of human trafficking victims lit only by the outside light. Each spectator casts a shadow on their faces. Victims are often shipped in such containers to a life of forced labor and, on its far side, the container's port windows look in on lines of sewing machines.

Dark Grass

Past Peep, a line of saplings, following the path of ropes thrown by artist Peter Hutchinson, curves through two other pieces: Inked Garden by Jennifer Wen Ma and interactive wattle and daub forms by Eliza and Nora Naranjo Morse. While Inked Garden's portrait of a human face is difficult to distinguish at ground level, the idea that new, green plants will spring through the black ink is heartening and apparently the whole point. Nearby, a boy runs across one of the wattle and daub forms like it's a half pipe, flying off the far end with new-found momentum.

Bird Houses

The last structure I come upon and (frankly) am obsessed with is a series of spindly-legged birds' nests, painted white. Migration, by Cameron Hockenson, conveys the feeling of isolation that comes with being uprooted in a world of social and natural upheaval. It's especially potent in this city at this time as well-heeled transients replace deep-rooted communities. Progress means change, but the movement associated with change can break apart strong support systems and leave individuals adrift. Of all the sculptures here, this summarizes the atmosphere I've experienced in DC through every person I've met. It also inspired a hope that we can create a home for ourselves, if only we stop, help each other, and take the time.