parallel incantations, 2022

Parallel Incantations surrounds the Penn Station waiting area with an illusion of infinite space. It pulls inspiration from ancient Egyptian temples and Islamic architecture, transforming the space with suggestions of expansiveness, air, and ambient light. As it evokes pilgrimage and ritual, this site-specific installation provides a poetic connection to a sense of deep time and travel.

Elsayed says, “For this project, I wanted to make a visual poem for a waiting area—the ambiguous space between coming and going, and to create a place within a physical transportation hub for viewers to be transported sensorially. ”

Parallel Incantations was commissioned by Art at Amtrak, curated by Debra Simon.