NEW YORK – MTA Arts & Design has launched Diaphanous Pareidolia, a five-screen digital animated artwork by Greek-French artist Eirini Linardaki, commissioned for Grand Central Madison in New York City.

“I am so proud to share this project with you and all the passengers who travel through Grand Central Madison in the heart of New York City,” said Linardaki. “Thank you to MTA Arts & Design for developing its fantastic public art program and for allowing me to create and install this series of animations designed for Grand Central.”

“Ten years after my first project in the USA, one of my dreams has come true – to display art with the MTA for public transportation users,” she noted. “As the proud daughter of a bus driver, my dad often took me with him on his morning bus routes, and I fondly remember sitting at the front and chatting along the way. I know if he were still here, he would be smiling.”

“Look closely at the animations in this 95-foot-long installation, and you will see many of my friends and family represented as train passengers, including my mom, brother, and dad (who is driving the passing bus!), Linardaki continued. “All the pattern collages you see reflect the multiculturalism of the city’s communities through their colors, designs, and styles.”

“Thank you to everyone who participated in this project – I am so happy to be part of the MTA Arts & Design program. And a special thank you to my friend Bruno Monteny, who helped me with so many of the technical aspects of this animation program,” she said.

Linardaki’s self-described “digital animation journey” uses scanned images of multi-patterned and multi-colored textiles sourced from around the globe to reflect the “multicultural tapestry” of New York City and its environs, constructing vibrant and imaginative worlds through which subway and commuter trains traverse.

“The central screen unfolds as a visual chronicle, depicting the evolution of Grand Central Terminal from its birth to the bustling underground hub it is today,” Linardaki said. “It captures the heartbeat of the city, showcasing not only the iconic architecture and energetic pulse of Grand Central, but also the panoramic views of the East River, the dynamic landscape of Long Island City, and the serene beauty of upstate New York. As the collages come to life, viewers embark on a visual pilgrimage and bear witness to the convergence of each destination’s transformative landscapes.”

Eirini Linardaki (born in Athens, Greece) is an artist and public art project developer based in New York and the island of Crete. She received her fine arts education at L.I.T. Limerick, Ireland, the Universität Der Kunst of Berlin, and the Ecole Superieure des Beaux-Arts of Marseille, France. Linardaki has developed numerous public art projects in the US, collaborating with various organizations such as the NYC Parks Department, the NYC Mayor’s office for Climate Policy, and the Department of Transportation. As part of her community-based art practice, Linardaki has been an active member of the Newark Artist Collaboration, an initiative to transform Newark, NJ, through public art. She mainly develops community-based projects, particularly through workshops on accessibility and inclusion through art in several other countries like with Handicap International in Liberia and France, where she lived for more than 20 years. Linardaki’s activist work was recognized with the 2022 Artivist Award from Sing For Hope. She is the mother of two children.

MTA Arts & Design encourages the use of public transportation by providing visual and performing arts in the metropolitan New York area. In November 2014, Arts & Design launched the Digital Arts program that feature works of contemporary new media artists throughout MTA’s digital media network. The Percent for Art program is one of the largest and most diverse collections of site-specific public art in the world, with nearly 400 commissions by world-famous, mid-career and emerging artists. Arts & Design produces Posters, Digital Art, Photography exhibitions, as well as live musical performances in stations through its Music Under New York (MUSIC) program, and the Poetry in Motion program in collaboration with the Poetry Society of America. It serves the millions of people who rely upon MTA subways and commuter trains and strives to create meaningful connections between sites, neighborhoods, and people.