UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — People passing by the Church of the Heavenly Rest in recent days may have noticed dozens of sepia-toned faces gazing down at them from high up on the Fifth Avenue house of worship.

Those visages, of Black Americans who fought in or were otherwise connected to the Civil War, make up a new large-scale artwork created by the artist Hank Willis Thomas as part of a project with his mother, the scholar Deborah Willis.

On view until December on the church facade on the corner of East 90th Street, the installation places photos of recognizable figures like Frederick Douglass alongside images of more anonymous Civil War soldiers.

Emblazoned across the vinyl mesh banner are the words "Remember me": a phrase that Willis Thomas scanned from the back of an 1866 postcard written by a Buffalo soldier. The artist has explored the phrase in previous works, most recently in the form of a 55-foot neon version that is on view at the Parrish Art Museum on Long Island.

The installation has special significance for the Church of the Heavenly Rest, which was itself founded in the wake of the Civil War as a memorial for those killed in the conflict.

"Heavenly Rest was founded by veterans as a place for reconciliation, for peace," said Lucas Thorpe, the church's director of program organizing, who helped coordinate the project.

The photos are sourced from Deborah Willis's 2021 book, "The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship," which explored the role of photography in shaping African American narratives of the Civil War.

Heavenly Rest's rector, Matthew Heyd, first proposed installing artwork on the church's exterior as the aging building undergoes a once-in-a-century refurbishment: the church is covered with scaffolding as workers redo its entire facade, revamp stained-glass windows and repair 18 rooftops.

Someone from the church's parish then connected with Hank Willis Thomas, and the artwork went up on Sept. 15. (The church's renovation is expected to last until September 2023.)

On Oct. 11, Heavenly Rest will host a reception and book signing officially marking the opening of the installation, known formally as "The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship (Remember me)."

People can RSVP online for that event, which will feature both Deborah Willis and Hank Willis Thomas.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.