FLIGHT

©2006 Stephanie Cunningham

Felt, Recycled Plastic Bags, Aluminum Bar, Brads, Vinyl and Transfer Type

4 panels: 36 x 11 inch panels, installation variable

Flight maps a year of extensive travel. Airport codes, longitude and latitude stats, and the distances between faithfully represent each destination. However, these “cold” numbers do not communicate the emotional memory of the actual trips. The poignancy of the trips is communicated through the materials, text, and the gentle kinetic quality of the work. Text is used as much for the spaces between the words. Select words evoke an experience that the viewer must weave together.

Each feather shape is individually cut from discarded plastic shopping bags and alludes to flight. The lightweight material floats with the slightest motion lending a poetic quality to the work. Each is attached to the felt by a silver brad. The row of brads alongside the aluminum bar recalls airline rivets and further alludes to flight.