Florists create 23 life-like sculptures to honor El Paso shooting victims
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — As El Pasoans come together this weekend to remember the lives lost from the Cielo Vista Walmart shooting, local florists are joining forces to unite the community.
These 23 life-sized sculptures, represent each life lost due to the tragedy on August 3, 2019.
“The life-like figures we wanted to show that these victims will never be forgotten and that even in death they are larger than life,” said a local florist wishing to remain anonymous.
Adding that the figures are life-sized but with all the moss and flowers they are “larger than life”.
Saturday, florists were finishing the final touches for the sculptures to be displayed throughout Ascarate Park on Sunday and Monday for the community to see.
Each of the 23 sculptures stands tall, covered in moss and dried flowers. The florists who created the sculptures say the moss represents eternal growth, and the dried flowers represent the process of life and death.
“It came out of a need to unite and to heal and to show what this town is about. El Paso is all about coming together and uniting as one, and that is what we wanted to represent here, which is what flowers do is they heal, and they bring people together”.
One sculpture is shorter than the rest. It represents 15-year-old Javier Rodriguez, the youngest killed. His sculpture will be completely covered in flowers. The florists say that’s because he “didn’t get to bloom in life”.
Each sculpture will be displayed in different locations across the park, but the sculptures representing the four couples who died together will be displayed next to their partner.
The florists behind the project say after Monday, they plan to first offer the sculptures to the families of the victims. If there are any remaining pieces, they say they are working with the city to get them displayed elsewhere.