I altered the Statue of Liberty with the goal of distancing it from romantic notions of American benevolence, sanding the statue down until its hollow interior was revealed. This resulting space was stuffed with dryer lint—mine mingled with that of my neighbors—collected whenever I washed my clothes. A mundane trace of our existence, lint is constantly being formed as our garments break down, which combines with the hair and skin our bodies shed as they regenerate.

The pedestal has been replaced with a cast aluminum oyster shell. New York Harbor once teemed with vast oyster beds, and Liberty Island was among several other small islands in the harbor referred to as the “Oyster Islands.” Oysters are an important part of a balanced ecosystem, acting as filters that clean and purify the water around them.

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Peter Hoffmeister received a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and an MFA from Hunter College where he has also taught since 2018. Solo projects include Quality Control, NADA House (P.A.D.), Governors Island, NY; Ground Revision, The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, New York, NY; Bill(board), 14 x 48, New York, NY; and Unpacked, The Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York, NY. Recent residencies and fellowships include the Wave Hill Winter Workspace Program, Bronx, NY; Visible Records, Charlottesville, VA; Lighthouse Works, Fishers Island, NY; and the Bronx Museum’s AIM Fellowship.

München Monopoly was a group show of P.A.D. artists that took place in 2021 at Galerie Christine Mayer for Various Others in Munich Germany. From Broadway to Maximilianstraße, the international exchange dug deep into its community chest for a roster of P.A.D. tokens and the mortgaged deeds of expatriate friends. Come with your collected ‘Go’ money and be prepared to pay a ‘luxury tax’.

P.A.D. is an art exhibition space in historic SOHO (South of Houston) District in New York City. It reflects the bustling economy of artists making, selling and promoting their artworks on the street year-round, weather permitting. The aim of the space is to platform small and editioned works by artists that are interested in embracing new contexts for exhibiting.