Inspired by the 15th century fan vaulting of Bath Abbey, A History of Aviation is a modular, adaptable installation. Furthering my longstanding investigation of hyperbolic spaces and surfaces, the sculpture revests Perpendicular Gothic with its original spirit: an aspiration to defy gravity, to soar, to create a space in which the spirit can fly.
Designed on computer, the sculpture is built using deceptively simple methods. The skills and materials of the 15th century stonemason are exchanged for those of the contemporary backyard aircraft builder. The structural elements are carved from foam, then wrapped with layers of fiberglass and epoxy resin. The resultant rigid, ultralight ribs are assembled into the toroidal structure, and the whole is skinned with heat-shrink Dacron fabric, also borrowed from the ultralight aircraft world.
The installation weighs only 400 pounds total, and breaks down into 20 nesting units, making it easily transportable. It has been erected at seven venues from Boston, Massachusetts, to Auburn, Alabama; each time in a different configuration.
