17 7/16″ x 14 5/8″ x 3″
Vintage electronics, vintage camera/projector/typewriter/adding machine parts, wire from cords and coils, plywood, acrylic, doorstops, hardware
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Translated as ‘The Great Buzz,’ this Goliath must have made a helluva sound when flying around using it’s well equipped small halteres (aka fly gyroscopes) to control its flight patterns. In fact, each two-winged fly I have created contains a set of halteres.
The common house fly is often considered a nuisance, annoying, creepy, even gross — despite this reputation, there is a heap of interesting beauty in these creatures. From the textures and hair to the huge compound eyes. Their flight system relies on evolved gyroscopes that morphed from it’s original second set of wings — hence their amazing maneuverability. This Mech-Fossil celebrates the unnoticed beauties of life.
The hairs on this specimen are individually applied. The wings are made from copper power cord wire soldered together. The wings show wear from 100s of thousands of flaps throughout it’s brief existence. For the mounting of this piece, I have used 5 brass doorstops which I’ve slightly modified. I produced this frame a while back — I have waited fo a specimen suited for the almost sinewy organic brass curves of the doorstops.
