GHOST BIKES for PALESTINE (2025–ongoing)
Bicycles, spray paint, metal chains, locks. Size variable.
The ongoing genocide of Palestinian people is funded in large part by the U.S. government’s collection of taxes, supplied under rule of law by working U.S. citizens. New York City, as a symbol of the international within the U.S., is the site of this ongoing series of public memorials for Palestinians killed during the genocide.
The memorials take the form of ghost bikes: painted white bicycles, locked in a public space, typically dedicated to cyclists where they have been struck and killed. GHOST BIKES for PALESTINE are a symbol of ongoing resistance, comprising the colors of the Palestinian flag, including those located in the wheel of the bicycles – the part that gives rise to movement. The memorials are intended as both a place of mourning and physical intervention of memory in the public cityscape, where countless U.S. citizens go about their daily lives unabated, with access to news of the genocide from primarily digital sources.
The Ghost Bikes were placed in the city’s most heavily trafficked places – whether by pedestrian numbers or as referenced in activism for Palestine. They have so far included Prospect Park, Times Square, Columbia University, and the Soho shopping district, with a combined total of over 200,000 pedestrians encountering the Bikes each day. The New York City Department of Sanitation stipulates that they will not remove “ghost bikes” placed on public property as a memorial for someone who died. However, each of the Ghost Bikes for Palestine was removed between two weeks to three months after their placement. In some cases, even the pole to which the bike was affixed was also removed.
The Ghost Bikes are painted and placed by the artist with the support of her extended community of New York City-based filmmakers, scholars, teachers, and community organizers.
Bicycles, spray paint, metal chains, locks. Size variable.
The ongoing genocide of Palestinian people is funded in large part by the U.S. government’s collection of taxes, supplied under rule of law by working U.S. citizens. New York City, as a symbol of the international within the U.S., is the site of this ongoing series of public memorials for Palestinians killed during the genocide.
The memorials take the form of ghost bikes: painted white bicycles, locked in a public space, typically dedicated to cyclists where they have been struck and killed. GHOST BIKES for PALESTINE are a symbol of ongoing resistance, comprising the colors of the Palestinian flag, including those located in the wheel of the bicycles – the part that gives rise to movement. The memorials are intended as both a place of mourning and physical intervention of memory in the public cityscape, where countless U.S. citizens go about their daily lives unabated, with access to news of the genocide from primarily digital sources.
The Ghost Bikes were placed in the city’s most heavily trafficked places – whether by pedestrian numbers or as referenced in activism for Palestine. They have so far included Prospect Park, Times Square, Columbia University, and the Soho shopping district, with a combined total of over 200,000 pedestrians encountering the Bikes each day. The New York City Department of Sanitation stipulates that they will not remove “ghost bikes” placed on public property as a memorial for someone who died. However, each of the Ghost Bikes for Palestine was removed between two weeks to three months after their placement. In some cases, even the pole to which the bike was affixed was also removed.
The Ghost Bikes are painted and placed by the artist with the support of her extended community of New York City-based filmmakers, scholars, teachers, and community organizers.
