Eggert to Transform Alexandria Waterfront with Monumental “Now or Never” in 2026

Eggert’s proposal responds directly to the current political climate through the language of monumental signage. The installation centers on two large billboards positioned face-to-face across a narrow passageway — one declaring “NOW” in black text on a white field, the other stating “NEVER” in white text on black. Together, they form a compressed corridor that viewers must traverse to fully experience the piece.

 

Eggert describes the pairing of the words NOW and NEVER as a reflection of today’s heightened sense of urgency, both politically and personally. By situating two massive billboards only eight feet apart, she creates a charged and unavoidable spatial tension that echoes our polarized moment. Yet the act of moving between them remains a metaphor for the possibility of common ground.

Preliminary design by Alicia Eggert. 

Each sign face will stand 13.5 feet tall and 40 feet long, with its lower edge raised four feet above the ground so that most adults feel fully enclosed when passing between them. From a distance, the billboards appear as stark black-and-white opposites. Up close, however, viewers will discover that each word is built from an offset CMYK dot-matrix pattern inspired by lithographic printing, where flecks of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black overlap to form what reads as a solid tone.

The installation’s east–west alignment is intentional: at the summer solstice, the sun will frame the passageway in a dramatic “Stonehenge effect.” After dark, the work will be illuminated by floodlights.

Launched in 2019, “Site See: New Views” brings contemporary public art to Old Town’s historic waterfront, inviting residents and visitors to engage with new artistic perspectives each year.

For more information about Alicia Eggert's work, visit AliciaEggert.com.