Ana Amada Ferrer

Visual Artist

The Bleeker Playground is a first-of-its-kind children’s park in New York City’s Greenwich Village. It is a place where low-waged nannies mix with Oscar-Winning actresses to watch their children play with “communally-owned” toys that are left in the park — bikes, Big-Wheels, scooters and play sets. In the day light, the park is filled with children’s laughter and squeals of joy from every corner. It almost seems like it the antithesis of your imagined New York City public park --it is an idyllic, safe oasis for urban, upper-class, privileged youth to explore creative play, community, and sharing.
But when the sun goes down and darkness overtakes the City. In this series of 20 photographs, these toys are unsettling because they emit a disturbing emotional tone that reflects the childhood fears of abandonment, isolation, and disposability. Or are we seeing what the adults projected onto these children’s toys — their fears that their children will be exposed, vulnerable, and unprotected?  

Lonely Toys