I live on Staten Island in NYC. Although the borough is loaded with artists, galleries have a hard time surviving here. The ones that do generally fall into two categories: the typical frame-shop / retail gallery and the funky done-on-a-dime kind of place. Naturally I love the latter, though I’m content to have the former for the occasional frame job.

One of the best galleries ever to “have a go” here on Staten Island was Tattfoo Temple of Art and Design, established by artist and graphic designer Tattfoo Tan and his wife, Ensze Tan, in 2003, just three years after their arrival from Malaysia. The Temple was established in an old factory loft that they cleaned up and painted white.

The Temple served primarily as a living, working and exhibition space for Tattfoo and Ensze. But they also took on a curatorial role, putting together a number of wonderful exhibitions that showcased the work of artists from Staten Island, the other boroughs and beyond. Tattfoo and Ensze created a dynamic and continually changing roster of installation, conceptual and performance arts events that were original and exciting.

Unfortunately, Tattfoo Temple of Art and Design closed down a couple of years ago. I don’t know the exact date. I stopped hearing about new openings and then someone mentioned the Temple had closed. What a shame! However, all is not lost. Tattfoo and Ensze continue to live in NYC, and Tattfoo continues to astonish with his playful, thoughtful and ethical work.

A recent project is “Concrete Jungle,” described by the artist as “an intervention on construction sites in downtown New York.” The Downtown Alliance and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council sponsored the project under the umbrella name “Re:Construction,” as part of an ongoing effort to keep downtown NYC vital and inviting, despite the tremendous amount of construction going on there. Pedestrians and drivers have to navigate a seemingly endless array of orange plastic fencing and traffic cones, jerrybuilt plywood ramps, detoured sidewalks and cement barriers that have turned downtown Manhattan into a parcours experience (a direct result of the World Trade Center attacks and subsequent demolition and rebuilding efforts).

“Re:Construction” was conceived as a series of public art installations that would alleviate the construction / destruction experience. From an open call for proposals, three artists / artist groups were chosen from 120 to actualize their proposals. Tattfoo was one of the three.

He took as his canvas those ubiquitous concrete barriers, turning them into playful puns on the city as jungle. Needless to say, they were an instant hit. No doubt the color choice has something to do with it: traffic cone orange on white. The color reference is immediately identifiable and invites passersby to join in the joke. Beyond that, the organic nature of the animal print relieves our hard-edged, right angle experience of the urban world. Once viewed as irritating impediments to pedestrian and vehicle progress, Tattfoo Tan’s construction barriers have become islands of the imagination, decorative frames to the ebb and flow of traffic.

All three “Re:Construction” installations—”Concrete Jungle” (Tattfoo Tan), “Fulton Fence” (Carolina Cisneros, Carlos J. Gómez de Llarena and Mateo Pintó) and “Best Pedestrian Route” (GRO Architects)—will be de-installed soon. But you can still check them out. Tattfoo’s “Concrete Jungle” is on Broadway, between John and Ann Street.