The title of this work refers to the pioneering days when planes were developed and we began to realize that flying was really possible. Man’s genius had taken another hurdle – what a wonderful feeling.
How different are things today: planes and airports have become targets of religious and/or political terrorism. The attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001 and on Brussels Airport in March 2016 are just two horrible examples. The plane, once a symbol of hope, of quasi unlimited opportunity and freedom, now carries a bitter and ominous connotation.
Aeroplanes shows the plane as a crucifix – a reference to religion, but more generally also to ‘believing’. The statue looks a bit like a human figure. The stripes symbolize ‘demarcation’ and remind us of the procedures, rules and regulations typical of aviation. Note that the plane is tilted forward, a position that suggests a crash, which, however, is stopped by the yellow-white beam.
