5535-2017 : Opioid Awareness Memorial Installation

5535-2017 is an award-winning mixed media memorial installation by Maria Maneos. Created in response to the 5,535 lives lost to opioid overdose in Pennsylvania in 2017, the work transforms glassine baggies, crystal beads, and monofilament into a suspended chandelier sculpture that invites reflection, remembrance, and compassion.

5535-2017 memorial chandelier sculpture installed at the State Museum of Pennsylvania

About the Installation

Materials: 5,535 clear glassine baggies, crystal beads, monofilament
Medium: Mixed media installation / chandelier sculpture
Artist: Maria Maneos
Year: Created in response to overdose deaths in Pennsylvania in 2017

Recognition

First Prize, Sculpture
Art of the State, Harrisburg, PA, 2018

Purchase Prize Award
Acquired by The State Museum of Pennsylvania

The piece memorializes the 5,535 people who died from heroin and opioid-related causes in Pennsylvania in 2017. Each clear glassine baggie represents one life lost. Suspended together with crystal beads and monofilament, the materials form a delicate, haunting installation that asks viewers to sit with the scale of loss while recognizing the humanity behind the number.

Gallery

Crystal beads placed inside glassine baggies for the 5535-2017 installation — The crystals inside the heroin baggies

Process of assembling the 5535-2017 memorial sculpture — The process of creating the sculpture

Close up view of crystals in drug baggies

Upward view of the suspended 5535-2017 installation

Detail view of the 5535-2017 memorial installation

Museum visitor viewing the 5535-2017 memorial sculpture

Maria Maneos with Frances Wolf and Dr. Rachel Levine beside 5535-2017 at Art of the State 2018 — First Lady Frances Wolf, Dr. Rachel Levine, and artist Maria Maneos in front of the finished chandelier sculpture
First Lady Frances Wolf, Dr. Rachel Levine, and artist Maria Maneos in front of the finished chandelier sculpture

5535-2017 chandelier sculpture on view at Art of the State 2018

The work transforms materials associated with addiction into a memorial of grief, reflection, and public awareness. What might first appear fragile or beautiful becomes more complex as viewers understand what the materials represent. The installation creates a space for mourning, conversation, and recognition of the lives, families, and communities affected by substance use disorder.

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Why This Work Matters

The opioid crisis is often discussed through statistics, headlines, and policy. 5,535 turns one statistic into a physical space, allowing viewers to encounter the weight of loss in a personal and visual way.

The installation honors those who died while also acknowledging the families, friends, people in recovery, and communities who continue to carry the impact of addiction. Through public art, the piece invites reflection without judgment and creates room for compassion, remembrance, and dialogue.