“Land,” it declares in steel. Nicholas Galanin’s In Every Language There is Land stands here in Abu Dhabi. It reuses US-Mexico border wall steel. The sculpture spells “LAND” like Robert Indiana’s LOVE.
Nicholas Galanin is Tlingit and Unangax. He connects with his cultural heritage through art. This artwork uses English and Spanish. These languages were imposed after colonization.
It’s part of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial 2024–2025. The Biennial explores public space through environment community urbanity and indigeneity.
The sculpture stands tall. It is layered. It shifts between legibility and abstraction. Anti-climbing plates appear on the upper letters. This echoes the border wall.
Galanin adapts pop art and minimalism. He protests oppressive systems. He focuses on repetition text and industrial production.
The title combines English and Spanish. These are two languages imposed in North America. It reminds us that Indigenous peoples persist. They permeate borders. This happens despite the removal of rights languages and land.
Galanin believes barriers to land reflect barriers to love. He means love for land community and future generations. He created this work with border wall steel. The steel echoes the wall’s height. It rises thirty feet.
Galanin is a member of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. He practices subsistence in his homeland. He sees free movement as essential. All life connects deeply to land.
In 2020 Galanin dug out the shadow of the Capt James Cook statue in Sydney. He examined colonization’s effects. In 2021 he made an analog to the Hollywood sign in Palm Springs. It read “INDIAN LAND”. This supported Land back initiatives.
His art analyzes power structures. It revalues Indigeneity. This includes care for land community and future generations. He was born in Sitka Alaska in 1979.
Nicholas Galanin’s In Every Language There is Land reuses material meant to divide. It becomes a message of unity. It speaks to resilience in every language.