Artist recreates inside of the sinking Costa Concordia ship in New York gallery

The abandoned remnants of the Costa Concordia cruise ship are still listing on its side off the coast of Italy, and officials say it may take a year to remove it. Despite the horrible consequences of the wreck, in which 32 people were killed (but not the captain—he saved his own ass), there is a certain tragic grandeur to the sight of the ship stranded in shallow waters near the Island of Giglio. But you don't have to fly all the way to Tuscany to contemplate this sinking metaphor for yourself—artist Thomas Hirschhorn has recreated part of it right here in NYC.

Hirschhorn, whose sprawling cardboard cave installation Cavemanman was one of the most memorable gallery shows in Chelsea's history, has installed a giant banquet hall inside Chelsea's Gladstone Gallery, tipped halfway over on its side. The large-scale show, which is open to the public through October 20th, is inspired by photos Hirschhorn saw showing the inside of the ship.