--- description: A sculpture that features the flag of Saudi Arabia will be removed from Ground Zero in New York following outcry from 9/11 victim's groups title: Saudi Arabia Flag Sculpture Removed From Ground Zero image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4ae0bd17a85b04f/69894343b21a9cbbf44ffe74/gettyimages-1082282834.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [New York](/tag/new-york/) ## New York Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Sculpture Featuring the Flag of Saudi Arabia Will Be Removed From Ground Zero by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 15, 2019 7:21 AM CUT  A sculpture with the flag of Saudi Arabia, part of an exhibit called 'Candy Nations' is pictured outside next to the Oculus, one of the buildings that replaced the original World Trade Center in New York City on Jan. 14, 2019. A sculpture with the flag of Saudi Arabia, part of an exhibit called 'Candy Nations' is pictured outside next to the Oculus, one of the buildings that replaced the original World Trade Center in New York City on Jan. 14, 2019.Johannes Eisele—AFP/Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 15, 2019 7:21 AM CUT A sculpture that features the flag of Saudi Arabia will be [removed from Ground Zero](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46861593 "undefined") in New York following outcry from 9/11 victim’s groups, the BBC reports. [Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers](http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,455736,00.html "undefined") were Saudi nationals, though the Gulf kingdom has [repeatedly denied involvement](http://time.com/4408667/911-report-28-pages-classified-saudi-arabia/ "undefined") in the 2001 tragedy that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. The artwork, called _Candy Nations_, comprises a series of oversized sweets wrapped in flags of the G20 nations, including Argentina, France, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. French artist Laurence Jenkell said she created the work in 2011 “to [celebrate mankind](https://observer.com/2019/01/saudi-arabia-sculpture-ground-zero/ "undefined")” and “pay tribute to People of the entire world.” It has toured 25 countries around the world, and arrived at the former World Trade Center site last month. The exhibit [intended to run](http://www.panynj.gov/press-room/press-item.cfm?headLine%5Fid=3041 "undefined") until Feb. 28, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. **Read more**: [_9/11 Anniversary: Many Families Still Don’t Have Remains_](http://time.com/4932331/911-anniversary-remains-families/ "undefined") Jenkell said she was aware of the “[justified sensitivities](https://observer.com/2019/01/saudi-arabia-sculpture-ground-zero/ "undefined")” around the Ground Zero site, but ultimately decided against excluding the Saudi sculpture from the show. “There is no way I can do such a thing as the flag of Saudi Arabia is entirely part of the G20 just like any other candy flag of this _Candy Nations_ show,” she said in a statement. The sculpture will reportedly be reinstalled this week at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, a decision hailed by an association of 9/11 victims’ families as “[the right action](https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-metro-9-11-families-react-saudi-flag-sculpture-20190114-story.html "undefined").” “The sculpture’s presence at this site, depicting the \[Saudi Arabian\] flag, is an outrageous affront to the 9/11 community and all other Americans who seek justice for the attacks on our nation on September 11, 2001,” the group said in a statement reported by the New York _Daily News_. “Surely the sculpture should be nowhere near the site of this mass murder.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5502889/saudi-arabia-flag-sculpture-removed-ground-zero/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5502889/saudi-arabia-flag-sculpture-removed-ground-zero/"},"headline":"A Sculpture Featuring the Flag of Saudi Arabia Will Be Removed From Ground Zero","datePublished":"2019-01-15T07:21:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:30:08.813Z","description":"The artwork's proximity to the site of 9/11 was criticized as insensitive","url":"https://time.com/5502889/saudi-arabia-flag-sculpture-removed-ground-zero/","keywords":["New York","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4ae0bd17a85b04f/69894343b21a9cbbf44ffe74/gettyimages-1082282834.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4ae0bd17a85b04f/69894343b21a9cbbf44ffe74/gettyimages-1082282834.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-CANDY-NATION","caption":"US-CANDY-NATION","creditText":"Johannes Eisele—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/new-york/","name":"New York"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5502889/saudi-arabia-flag-sculpture-removed-ground-zero/","name":"A Sculpture Featuring the Flag of Saudi Arabia Will Be Removed From Ground Zero"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Beyond 9/11: Survivors","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ToFCU8Vx/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-15T18:50:46.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ToFCU8Vx.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5502889/saudi-arabia-flag-sculpture-removed-ground-zero/","duration":"PT10M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5502889/saudi-arabia-flag-sculpture-removed-ground-zero/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```