Breathe Oxygen

Here is a little-known public sculpture I noticed today in Humboldt Park. It's a larger-than-life concrete snail (about 4 feet long, 2 feet tall) nestled in a strip of garden on the south-eastern edge of the lagoon, behind a black metal railing. On the side of the snail are etched the words "breathe oxygen," possibly the title of the piece, or an exhortation to passers-by to enjoy the fresh air of the green surroundings. At first, this piece seemed to be a simple garden figure; a slow muncher of leaves amidst a peaceful garden to be enjoyed by all. However, a consideration of the existence of this particular form in this particular place suggests a surprisingly political undertone. On closer inspection, we can see that the snail is actually wearing a human mask. The eyes are closed as though sleeping, jaw jutting forward, mouth poised to exhale. The face resembles some Mayan masks. The neighborhoods around Humboldt Park have a significant population of Puerto Rican and Mexican Americans, so with the appearance of the mask, I wondered if there weren't something significant, something symbolic about this snail. It turns out the snail is one of the important symbols of the EZLN, a revolutionary group historically based in Chiapas, Mexico, but spread throughout Mexico, Latin America and even gone global through adept use of the internet. According to Wikipedia, the EZLN ideology combines aspects of socialism, anarchism, libertarianism and indigenous Mayan political thought, though now the group aligns itself with a general resistance to globalization and native peoples' claims to local lands and resources. For the EZLN, the snail is a symbol of their method of organizing, el caracol--the organization is said to spiral and grow like the shell of the snail. Images of snails appear on EZLN shirts, posters, embroidery and murals, sometimes wearing the black mask the EZLN fighters have worn since their 1994 uprising, which was timed in protest of the NAFTA. After reading this, I began to think of the snail sculpture in Humboldt Park as a sleeping sign of the potential for revolution in unexpected places. Alexander Von Humboldt, after whom the park was named, is one of the most revered minds in science, having contributed hundreds of discoveries, publications, and inventions to many different disciplines of science. In fact, he even invented a device to measure the ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide in air, for use in studies of altitude sickness and plant respiration. Perhaps the inscription, "breathe oxygen" could be a reference to Humboldt's device or his studies. It could be a simple reminder that people of native cultures didn't need European scientists and technology to tell them humans can breathe better where there is an abundance of plants. Much of Humboldt's groundbreaking work came during his noted travels through Latin America. He wrote extensively about the natural wonders of the new world, but often ignored the importance of the native people already inhabiting the areas he studied. These facts connected in my mind the snail as a symbol to its particular location in Humboldt Park, and I started to think of this green patch of ground and water not just as a place for a leisurely stroll and breath of fresh air, but as an environment surrounded by concrete, but nonetheless fecund in its potential to produce oxygen, and along with it perhaps, even revolution?