The installation is a response to the mixed feelings of being in two places at once, and the dichotomy of belonging and not belonging to two different countries and cultures.

I immigrated to New Zealand from Canada in 2008, and the move was filled with unexpected shifts and emotions. I use airplanes as a metaphor for travel and journey; they can be departing or arriving, carrying immigrants, emigrants, and visitors with their hopes, dreams, and fears. The planes are arranged around the gallery on the wall, anchored with words pressed into copper tags. The words are taken from my journal entries that I jotted down over the year it took to move. It offers the viewer a poetic walk around the gallery and provides an introspective view and dialogue about ‘moving’.

Some of the emotions associated with migrating come from the variety of new encounters: from people or the environment, colour, and scents, to light, time, traditions, language, etc. I create an interesting ‘conversation’ between all of the materials I choose in order to create a visual cacophony: ceramics, glass, wood, fibre, wool, and bronze are used in conjunction with processes such as sewing, knitting, laser cutting, pate-de-verre, and kiln-casting. In addition, I stamp letters into bronze markers placed throughout the installation: these are words I wrote in journals over the year that I moved between the countries of Canada and New Zealand, and emphasize the feelings of trepidation and excitement involved with moving.

Dimensions:This piece has been exhibited in a large room. @ plane is approx.5” X 5” X .5” and is attached to a wire up to 10” long.

Materials: knitting, fabric, wood, bronze, glass, ceramics, wire, thread.

2009 “Migrations” Solo Exhibition. Corban Estate for the Arts, Henderson, New Zealand.

2010 “Vancouver 2010: Unity and Diversity” Curated Canadian Group Exhibition for the 2010 Olympics, The Vancouver Museum, Canada.

Fl-uttering • Imaginings • Fields •