Sculptor Charles Gaines’ monumental ‘Moving Chains’ now open on Governors Island 

By Scott Lynch

Charles Gaines has been developing The American Manifest, a series of artworks exploring and exposing the whitewashing of this country’s origin story, for nearly a decade. The first chapter, Roots, just finished its three month run in the heart of Times Square. There, seven Sweetgum trees, common in the indigenous Manhatta landscape, sprouted from the concrete upside down, roots to the sky, encouraging viewers to “dig deeper into the systems that underpin the nation’s founding and expansion.”

Now The American Manifest continues on Governors Island, with Gaines’ colossal Moving Chains, a 110-foot long, 17-foot high kinetic sculpture that evokes the hull of ship, with nine massive, 1,600-pound chains running in long loops overhead, clanking loud enough to disconcert. Walking through this monster is a powerful experience.

Scott Lynch

The location of Moving Chains is no coincidence. It looks out over New York Harbor, an important waterway for the transatlantic slave trade during the Dutch and British occupations, and the racist foundation of America itself.

Across the harbor is the Statue of Liberty, which Gaines points out was given to the United States “as a present for getting rid of slavery,” though all such references in the original design were removed long ago.

Scott Lynch

Manhattan’s Financial District is also prominent in the view from the sculpture’s site.

Scott Lynch

The exterior of Moving Chains is made from sustainably harvested Sapele, a tree native to West Africa and commonly called African Mahogany. It’s sleek and fresh-looking now, but the sculpture will be sitting here by the water for the next eight months, and will change in appearance over time.

The nine chains loop and rattle for 15 minutes, pause for five minutes, then start again. Eight of the chains run at a pace approximating the currents in the harbor, and the ninth moves faster, at about the speed of a ship. A representative of Creative Time tells Brooklyn Magazine that, except for days when the temperature drops below freezing, the chains will be operating during the work’s open hours all winter long.

Scott Lynch

Moving Chains, the second part of Charles Gaines: The American Manifest, is located on the western edge of Governors Island, at the base of Outlook Hill, and will be on view through June of 2023. The kinetic aspect of the sculpture will be in operation on Wednesday through Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m, and Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.