The title of this image, said aloud, is a double entendre referring either to a noun or a verb. A “mourning piece” is an object that tells the story of death in emblems. In this case the emblem is the twin towers.

As a verb, “Mourning Peace” is a reference to Minoru Yamasaki, the architect of the WTC. He said that he wanted his work to stand as a symbol of Peace and of man’s ability to achieve greatness through cooperation. After the attacks of 9/11, I constructed this image of the towers from 6944 origami cranes to reclaim that spirit, and to provide a loving and peaceful memorial to the lives lost there. Viewed in-person, this rendering suggests the presence of the towers in a very ethereal fashion, implying that they are there even though they are not; like twin ghosts, or a trick of light and clouds, capturing a memory.