New public art offers ‘peep’ into human trafficking

A new art display being unveiled Monday in San Jose is meant to draw awareness regarding human trafficking and forced labor ahead of Super Bowl 50, according to Santa Clara County officials.

County officials, as well as officials with the San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs, will debut the work of art at a ceremony happening at 11 a.m. at Parque De Los Pobladores at South Market and East Williams streets.

The display is titled Peep and was made by artist Jonathan Fung.

For the project, Fung converted a 20-foot shipping container into artwork, using various portholes with visual and auditory symbols that give the viewer an opportunity to understand the impacts of human trafficking, county officials said.

Peep is set to run in San Jose through Mar. 12. It was first displayed in Washington D.C. in 2014.

The installation is timed to coincide with the many Super Bowl 50 related events happening in the Bay Area this week. City and County officials throughout the region are expecting an increase in human trafficking activity during this time.

The FBI recently listed the San Francisco Bay Area as one of the top 13 destination spots for sex trafficking involving children, county officials said.

In 2014, the Santa Clara County Service Response Team reported provided services to almost 60 juveniles who had been commercially sexually exploited, according to county officials.

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