Central Washington University, Ellensberg, WA

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Public art component for the entry lobby of the Health Sciences Building, a new facility created to bring the various department programs together into a single centralized facility. The local culture of fly fishing served as inspiration for a suspended composition composed of hundreds of custom-made fishing flies swirling together in a central grouping. Referencing the schooling, flocking and shoaling found in nature, it is intended as an analogy to the site’s function both within and outside of the campus context.

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As if emerging from the nearby Yakima River, the swirling composition connects local history and the surrounding natural environment while drawing from the vocabulary of the area’s vernacular. As individual handmade or selected assemblies, the fishing flies reflect the personality of their owners and in this way are reflective of the community and a synthetic representation of the local environment. The installation will be illuminated internally at night appearing as insects swarming around a light.

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