Welcome Home & Safe Travels, 2020, fabric, ribbon, beads, embroidery floss, 36 in x 48 in, in collaboration with Asher McGrath Leahy, performed at O'Hare International Airport on 03/12/20, duration: 45 minutes
Welcome Home & Safe Travels was never supposed to be about a global pandemic. Fellow SAIC student Asher McGrath Leahy and I began this project in late February 2020 intending to perform an unexpected act of goodwill by publicly installing a banner embellished with pearls, embroidered dragonflies, and kind words in a floral print. At the time COVID-19 was nothing more to Americans than concerning speculation and an excuse for racist, xenophobic behavior. That was enough reason for us three weeks later on May 12th, to travel to an eerily quiet airport to display our banner accompanied by an atmosphere of unavoidable doom that we, the airport’s patrons, and staff all breathed from for the 45 minutes we remained there. The few remarks of appreciation and smiles we received were enough to know our goal was accomplished. A week later our college would be one of the last in Chicago to physically close and become an entirely virtual campus.
Link to Video Trailer
