This summer I was invited to submit a proposal for a commission at Intercontinental Airport here in Houston. The idea wasn’t chosen, but I like it so much that I decided to memorialize it here. Perhaps I’ll create a series comprised of four pieces hanging vertically—though likely not in the 28’ dimension that this setting would have required. Until then, this is my bookmark:
My use of a moon theme was influenced by Houston’s reputation as ‘Space City,’ not to mention flight itself, the process by which we all get a little closer to celestial bodies. In addition, my design’s emphasis on simple geometry ensures timelessness, as for centuries, its use in art has symbolized the desire for an ordered universe.
The organic shapes of these pieces contrast with the rectilinear forms and rigid materials that tend to dominate institutional spaces. Instead, the waves and bubbles of these evoke textures of the natural world, from the surfaces of distant satellites to foliage and foam found right here at home.
My motivation for using felt in this work has a similarly dual nature, as it was a material known to ancient people and yet also has contemporary industrial use cases, such as in gaskets and seals for aviation. I find it so powerful that this material is one of our earliest inventions and remains integral to innovative technology in aerospace applications today. And while textiles may seem an unusual choice for an airport, Heathrow offers us a lovely precedent in the form of a permanent 20’ fabric mural in its facility by Vanessa Barragao.