year: 2010

Restless

Kinetic Sculpture, Seattle, 2010

"Restless" was strongly inspired by the bird strike accident that led to the U.S. Airways Flight 1549 Hudson River Crash on January 15, 2009. The heroic water landing made by the pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger allowed for the safe evacuation of all 155 passengers. This near-tragic event triggered the thought that flying humans and flying birds don't mix. A beautiful flock of wild Canadian Geese for a moment become a serious threat in the skies of New York.
"Restless" is a translation of this potentially tragic and unsolvable conflict into physical form.
It is built from of the shelf bird control equipment and materials. Twelve gracefully rotating "Bird Repellers" are mounted onto a 160 feet long horizontal truss, which floats above the walkway close to the ceiling. The edges of the truss are made of "Bird Spikes," which further highlights the unwelcoming nature of an airport environment towards our native bird population.

Curator: Barbara Luecke
Fabrication: Peter Carlson