Giant bronze octopus sculpture installed in NYC: What does it mean?

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (WPIX) – A bronze sculpture of an octopus cradling an elephant, a gorilla, a hippo and a rhinoceros has made its home in Lower Manhattan.

This colossal work of art, titled “The Arms of Friendship,” will be on public display at the World Trade Center campus in New York City until July 2025. It’s the latest public exhibition by artist-cooperative couple Gillie and Marc, who aim to raise awareness about endangered wildlife.

“In the last 50 years, wildlife populations have plummeted by 69% globally. We are now facing the world’s sixth mass extinction,” Gillie wrote in a statement included on the couple’s official website. “This crisis is beyond description, yet we remain hopeful and committed to witnessing change within our lifetimes. We trust that our art and the stories we tell can inspire people to engage in vital conversations and take meaningful action.”

The sculpture, which contains the world’s largest bronze octopus, spans 36 feet and weighs a whopping seven tons. Several endangered animals sit within the octopus’s eight tentacles, including Gillie and Marc’s signature Rabbitwoman and Dogman characters.

The artists encourage the public to interact with their latest sculpture, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. They also invite onlookers to sit on a giant tentacle and enjoy a moment with a “magnificent animal which they never get the chance to experience in the wild.”

In addition to “The Arms of Friendship,” Gillie and Marc have installed two other pieces outside the Oculus building at the World Trade Center: “The Wild Table of Love,” featuring a number of bronze animals sharing a meal at a dining table; and “The Hippo Was Hungry to Try New Things With Rabbitwoman,” depicting the Rabbitwoman character and a bronze hippo having a conversation about the latter’s disappearing habitat, according to Gillie and Marc.

“This piece symbolizes the need for collective effort to address the hippo’s plight,” their website reads.

Gillie and Marc, a married couple, are versatile artists who work across various mediums. They use paint, aluminum, bronze, and fiberglass to bring their public artworks to life, which can be found in Chicago, San Francisco, London, and Singapore.