After an entire year of mishaps, our piece at SEATAC is almost complete/installed. The final bollards were shipped off a week ago, and should be installed within the next couple weeks. This series of bollards is called “The Origin of Fire”. Functioning as both wayfinding and considering time, place and history, four of the bollards are capped with a bronze of Mt. Rainier. The Pacific Northwest’s scenic beauty is due to complex geological formations: what makes it beautiful also makes it dangerous. Prone to earthquakes and tremors, the techtonic plates contributed to the formation of the cascade volcano chain. The remaining bollards are etched with a Rainier trail map, accompanied by images that refer to fire myths of the Pacific Northwest.
While in Western mythos it is always man that steals fire from the gods, in nonwestern narratives (and myths of the global south) it is often animals that gift fire to humankind. In Mexico, it is the opossum that steals a coal and carries it to mankind with his tail, subsequently causing his tail to be bald. The opossum implores the recipients to never eat him, because he has done them this favor.
In Northwestern myths, it is a relay: a fox steals the fire, hands it to the wolf, who passes it to a squirrel who then transfers fire to a frog.
We had to contend with numerous setbacks- my surgery, a difficult and painful recovery and physical therapy, nationwide cyberattacks on airports. There were a lot of delays. A steep learning curve. Stilll, we hope to do it again- this concept was imagined as a series that focuses on representing the passage of time in both geological and cultural ways. Airport art has an interesting audience- you are arriving somewhere new, or leaving or returning home. Either way, it is easier to remember “Oh we parked in Rainier, Wonderland Trail” or “Mt Olympus, Storm King” than it is C5.
Other news- still working on cyanotypes for the Haunted Series. I am also using Solar Fast to incorporate more color into the pieces. I am preparing to exhibit work in Puebla, Mexico next winter, when I return for my Intercultural Poltergeist residency at Arquetopia.