Elisabeth Pointon: What Goes Up

For Plane Text in 2012, Art Basel Miami Beach commissioned "fifteen of the most seminal figures in text art" to create text works to be flown behind aeroplanes.

Questioning who gets to speak, where, and how, Wellington artist Elisabeth Pointon responded by making her own aerial banners bearing punchy taglines: ‘Spectacular.’ and ‘Big Deal.’ Pointon garnered community support to pull off her dream project: roping in friends and repurposing her flat as a party venue for fundraising, working with artist-run-initiative Play_station, and establishing a collaborative relationship with an aerial-advertising-banner-towing company.

She flew Spectacular. over One Tree Hill, then Big Deal. at Auckland Art Fair. Another text will fly over Hobart’s Hobiennale in November, rounding off a year-long trilogy. Our show features banners and documentation of the performances.