Flights of Fancy

These two ceramic mosaic installations were created as a welcoming gesture for every visitor to the Sioux Falls Regional Airport. Installed on opposing walls of the main terminal — the central space every passenger passes through — they are seen by all arrivals and departures, travelers and locals alike.

My thought was to reflect on what an airport actually

does

— what people might be turning over in their minds as they move through it — and to suggest some relationships that could make this a more memorable journey. And to offer, if you’re open to it, the possibility of visual delight.

All journeys, both planned and unexpected, begin with

once upon a time

. And time, of course, becomes the primary concern the moment you step into an airport. So I explore time in a finite sense — flight times, schedules, the departure board — and move these visually into something with more of a sense of timelessness: the stars, and the people who have danced on the prairie for countless generations. I combined this with a geologic sense of permanence, drawn from the landscapes of some of my favorite places around Sioux Falls. And I wanted to play with things that fly, that lift off, that go up into the sky. Together, these elements dance across both mosaics — between flight and time, the immediate and the ancient, the local and the everywhere.

Special thanks to Katy Isennock (Lakota), champion Fancy Shawl Dancer, and Cliff Matias (Kichwa, Taíno), Director of Redhawk Native American Arts Council.