(b. 1949, Yemen) Girl on the Run – 2022

Girl on the Run is a striking sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Zadok Ben-David, installed in 2022 as part of the Miami Worldcenter public art initiative. Born in Yemen and raised in Israel, Ben-David is known for his evocative use of scale, shadow, and silhouette to explore themes of identity, perception, and human connection. The artist studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and later at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London, where he developed his distinct approach to metalwork and installation.

This particular sculpture is part of his ongoing series titled People I Saw But Never Met, a deeply humanistic body of work that began in 2015 and has been exhibited globally, including at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Kunstmuseum in Germany, and the Singapore Art Museum. In this series, Ben-David photographs anonymous passersby during his travels in over 20 countries—including Vietnam, China, France, and the United States—and then hand-cuts their likenesses out of aluminum, creating life-size silhouettes that are simultaneously intimate and universal.

Girl on the Run captures a fleeting, candid moment: a young woman mid-stride, turned ever so slightly in motion. While the figure appears light and airy—especially when viewed against an open sky—its physical scale and placement in an urban setting lend it gravity and emotional resonance. As with many of Ben-David’s works, the piece plays with optical illusion and duality: depending on the light and viewing angle, the figure may appear to move, shift, or disappear into its surroundings.

Ben-David has described the project as a metaphor for the diversity and anonymity of modern life. “We pass by thousands of people and never know who they are,” he explained in an interview with the Financial Times. “This series pays tribute to the beauty of strangers—people who live among us yet remain unknown.” Each silhouette is a testament to individuality within collectivity—a theme made more poignant when presented in public space, where countless lives intersect daily.

In this way, Girl on the Run reflects the ethos of the Miami Worldcenter art program: to root one of the country’s largest urban developments in a sense of global humanity and local accessibility. The figure, while unnamed, becomes a symbol of movement, diversity, and presence—an embodiment of how art can reflect not just architecture, but the people who inhabit its landscape.