REWIND, an art installation by contemporary artist WhIsBe, transforms South Oculus Plaza into a stage of reflective play with oversized childhood toy sculptures, ranging from 6 to 16 feet tall. These figures are meditations on innocence, resilience, and the surreal passage of time where wonder and weight coexist. 

Sculptures featured in REWIND pay homage to the city WhIsBe calls home. Among them is “WASA” standing for WhIsBe Aeronautics and Space Administration, is a 10-foot-tall rocket ship symbolizing the quintessential New York hustle—the drive to reach for the stars and make it big. The 15-foot-long “dRex” nods to the artist’s childhood trips to the American Museum of Natural History, while the 5-foot-tall robot “Spark” features a missing heart, a poignant reference to the iconic “I ❤️ NY” logo recognized around the world. The 6-foot-tall “NYC” building blocks, rendered in the six colors of the rainbow, celebrate the city’s enduring spirit of inclusivity and its embrace of all people—regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.

About WhIsBe

Contemporary artist WhIsBe bridges the world of street art and the institutional mainstream of museums, galleries, and public installations. His moniker—short for “What is Beauty”—pairs an innocuous sweetness with deeper themes of cultural critique and subversion that define his practice.  WhIsBe has collaborated with organizations including Art Works Charity Foundation, Charity: Water, Red Bull, and more, and has exhibited widely at major fairs such as Art Basel, Art Miami, Art Central Hong Kong, and Art Southampton. In 2016, he partnered with the New Museum in New York to create a large-scale installation of polychrome Vandal Gummies and limited-edition works.

In 2017, he was commissioned to install a monumental sculpture in the lobby of 4 World Trade Center, which led to a 25-foot Vandal Gummy Dino commission for the Hong Kong Tourism Board, installed before the city’s historic Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower.