A symbolic border wall that has stood in Midtown Atlanta for nearly a year must find a new home by Cinco de Mayo.
Artist Joseph Guay's public art installation, which has gained international attention, was inspired by the wall for the US/Mexico border proposed by President Donald Trump. He erected it at 10th Street and Howell Mill Road last summer, and has accumulated messages and graffiti from the community in the months since.
The installation must be moved by May 5, which is, "ironically Cinco de Mayo," Guay said in a social media post. In Mexico, the minor holiday is a celebration of the Mexican army's surprising victory over France at the 1862 Battle of Puebla.
The timing appears to be purely coincidental. The man who owns the land the wall sits on recently sold the lot and needs it clear for its new owner, Curbed Atlanta reported.
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The fate of the installation isn’t yet known. It may be repainted by Guay or “preserved in its current state and divided into panels for collectors,” according to his post. Or it could be relocated to Trump Tower, the border or another city.
The wall was designed as a moveable object that can be pieced together as an art installation rather than attached to the ground. The 16-foot-tall steel, rebar and concrete wall of eight panels was constructed by dozen undocumented Mexican labor workers, said Guay on his website.
"The purpose of this installation is to create social awareness of the issues surrounding immigration in the United States," the artist said.
Guay's art work tends to be centered around social issues and the human condition. During the March for Our Lives protest last month, he set up an exhibition of 14 school desks covered in black chalkboard paint in memory of the Parkland student victims.
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