Mothership (Capsule)
2009
SALVAGED WOOD, TIN, 22 INCH CHROME RING, AUDIOSALVAGED WOOD, TIN, 22-INCH CHROME RING, AUDIO
92 × 75 × 86 INCHES (235 × 190.5 × 218.4 CM)
“Science fiction fantasy is, in part, a spiritual place that African Americans have always inhabited. Beyond the Earth’s gravitational force, anything can happen.”
In 1962, NASA’s Mercury space capsule was the first American spacecraft to orbit the Earth. Surfing the earth’s gravitational pull, it quickly found itself splashing into the ocean. Mothership, an abstracted replica of this vessel, is constructed using wood salvaged from President Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural address platform and ceiling tin from a gutted Baltimore house. A representation of possibilities, the piece is equipped with sounds being channeled through a subwoofer at the top. The work echoes voices of the past, while projecting a contemporary sense of weight and toughness.
