The Irish Hunger Memorial in Tribeca was designed by artist Brian Tolle and sits on a half-acre of land facing the Hudson River. It is made up of stones from Ireland’s 32 counties and elevated on a limestone plinth. The top of the memorial is landscaped from soil and native vegetation from Ireland and is lush with a tiny square of rolling hills. In the winter, though, it looks quite barren and depressing, perhaps echoing to the tragic stories that came out of the Great Irish Famine.

The base contains bands of illuminated frosted glass panels with text cast as shadow. The bands are separated by layers of limestone imported from Kilkenny, Ireland while this text is a combination of history from the Famine along with reminders that world hunger is still very much a thing.

The Memorial is erected in one of the densely populated cities in the world yet, once you enter its grounds, you are transported to another time and place and immediately removed from the present. It forces you into introspection and perhaps even gratitude, if you’ve lived all your days without ever feeling the pangs of hunger.