Icarus Births The Contemporary

In the Greek myth that inspires this project (as well as some companion work with my product design collective) the young Icarus, adorned with feathered wings—exulting in his freedom from earth and godly rules—flies too close to the sun. His father, Dedalus watches him plummet to the earth. And remembers.

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While this tale has been for a few thousand years interpreted as one of the dangers of hubris, the dangers of getting above (so to speak) of one’s station, of daring to go and do what only the gods are able, this work instead embraces an alternative vision: the freedom and sense of opportunity and grace that Icarus gave humanity. Doing what he did, and doing it the way he did it, is a moment of genesis. Where we were landbound supplicants, we became (despite the dangers) capable of leaping across the sky, arcing from idea to idea. Icarus’s flaming descent into the sea was not the end. It was the beginning. 

Stoneware. 2 pieces. Icarus 1 (2024) 25.2 x 15.15 cm; Icarus 2 (2024) 39 x 25.5 cm.