2020
Measurements unframed: 880 mm (width) X 1112 mm (height)
Materials: Cut leaflets from the Japanese sago palm (Cycas revoluta), coarse sand, dark coloured, roughly shaped pebbles from the Karoo.
Compare INKLINGS and FIGHTING FOR PEACE.
Fletchlings
Arrows are historical instrument of warfare, and as such missiles and rockets often derive their name, their sleek appearance and penetration over distances from the arrow.
A fletch is the vane used to steer an arrow and FLETCHLINGS is filled with a rain of fletches. An arrow is usually fitted with three to five fletches, taken from sturdy feathers of birds of flight. The work is also filled with a hail of small ballistic stones. The stone is a more ancient, practical type of missile used in slaying enemies. A ballistic object is a projectile of flight used in combat. The original ballista is a catapult of ancient warfare used for hurling large stones.
The work's fletches made of hand-cut plant vanes, and its pathetic child-like ballistic stones are a despondent poetic stab at the way military forces romanticise the devastation and cruelty inflicted by their air defense systems. The work is a forlorn and pitiful pining for unattainable peace.
Arrows and archers are a historical stereotype in the creation of most air defense systems. The AA-11 Archer is a short-range air-to-air missile. The Arrow or Hetz is a family of anti-ballistic missiles designed to fulfill an Israeli requirement for a missile defense system.
Ironically so-called Christians are told to love their enemies, but a major United States naval air base in Texas carries the name of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, literally translated as Naval Air Station Body of Christ.
Many systems are also named after well-known birds that strike down on their prey with feathers flaring. Some of these are: The AGM-45 Shrike, an American anti-radiation missile. The AGM-53A Condor, a long-range high-precision air-to-surface missile. The AGM-76 Falcon, an air-to-surface anti-radiation missile. The Raytheon MIM-23 Hawk, an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. The SA-18 Grouse, a Russian/Soviet man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile. The BAe Sea Eagle, a medium weight sea-skimming anti-ship missile. The list is endless.
Of all the cycads, the harmless Japanese sago palm is the most popular in cultivation. It is seen in almost all botanical gardens, in both temperate and tropical locations. The pith of the this cycad contains edible starch, the sago, a flour-like substance used in many dishes and in parts of Indonesia sago is the staple diet.
