During Miami Art Week 2019, the City of Miami Beach will unveil Order of Importance, a monumental site-specific installation by Argentinean conceptual artist Leandro Erlich. The installation will be on view to the public from December 1–15, 2019. Order of Importance will be a temporary installation located directly on the ocean front in South Beach at Lincoln Road, and will be comprised of 66 life-size sand replicas of cars and trucks. The forms will be left to slowly degrade throughout the duration of the 15-day exhibition.
By recasting the 21st century traffic jam in sand, Erlich alludes to time in both a representational and material sense. The sand replicas of vehicles frozen in time symbolize a harsh and rigid modernity that is at odds with natural and porous material of which they are made. Throughout his career, Erlich has combined elements of sculpture, architecture, and theater to create surreal environments that disrupt the audience’s natural view of the world.