The Gilded Passage

2025. Five-channel site-specific video installation (color, silent), LED digital displays.
A procession of unicorns weaves through Grand Central Madison’s concourse. Evoking a trompe l’oeil fresco and referencing the historic Grand Central above, the work creates an illusionistic interplay across five screens as the virtual unicorns pass behind architectural columns. The Gilded Passage reframes Grand Central Madison as a liminal space, mirroring the way we move between material and virtual realities in the digital age. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design.
Still from The Gilded Passage by Jonathan Monaghan, showing glowing unicorns walking along an ornate, beige architectural background. Photo of The Gilded Passage by Jonathan Monaghan in a transit concourse in NY with glowing unicorns traversing five large LED screens. Photo of The Gilded Passage by Jonathan Monaghan with commuters in front of LED screens with glowing unicorns.