As they step over the cobblestones of the Seaport district, the work of artist Filipe Cortez asks visitors to open their eyes and become aware of their surroundings, to recognize what the area is made of and who are – and were – the members of the community. Cortez’s creations form a ghostly presence, rendering traces from the past visible and palpable. They represent the deposit of past lives, recalling our own mortality – and that of the generations who preceded us, and those yet to come. Traces and Tides is on view and free to the public at the Melville Gallery at the South Street Seaport Museum until Saturday April 9th.