Artwork "Mother" for Fred Wilson - Kunststoffverarbeitung Sonderformen Modellbau mit GFK CFK

We were commissioned by renowned American artist Fred Wilson to collaborate on a special work of art, “Mother”. This artwork celebrates the beauty of “Mother Earth”. It is a multi-level sculpture of twelve globes tilted at various angles and surrounded by Fred Wilson’s signature black “drops”. The imposing sculpture extends over several floors as a permanent installation in Terminal C of La Guardia Airport in New York.

This exciting project presented us with a variety of challenges. As a basis for the later earth balls, we first produced 12 hollow spheres from 6-8 mm thick GRP layer. The size of the spheres varied from 0.46 m up to a gigantic diameter of 3.36 m. The spheres had to meet various requirements due to their subsequent placement in the airport terminal: They were to have a non-combustible surface in accordance with ASTM 84 Class A. Furthermore, they were weighted down with additional weights so that they would not sway too much in the event of an earthquake. For the installation of the sphere, a suspension from the ceiling was provided. For this purpose, a very stable internal steel suspension device had to be constructed. The largest sphere had to be divided into four equal sections to make it transportable.

After all the spheres were surface treated and sanded smooth, they were given a coat of black paint, which the artist Fred Wilson intended to be the base color. The next challenge was to turn all the spheres into globes. The contours of a world map were applied to the black surface with the help of a CNC machine: For some only the continents, for others also individual 195 countries of the globe.

The large “drops” that are part of the installation are made of 100 percent aluminum. They were milled at our partner Industrie Mechanik Böger Maschinenbau GmbH and further processed by us to give them a high-gloss black surface.

When the work on the globes had progressed, Fred Wilson personally got a picture of the process on site and worked out the further “tactics” together with our team. During further stays of several weeks, Fred Wilson had added a strong structure to many of the continents on the globes by his own hand. The globes were then all painted differently by hand according to very precise color specifications. The handwork was done by Fred Wilson on site with the help of some creative helpers. This cooperation was a good opportunity to bring the likeable artist also a little piece of Germany and its culture closer 😉

In the end, the globes were given a coat of varnish. The final hurdle was packing and shipping the elements to America and setting up the installation in Terminal C of La Guradia Airport in New York. Our staff was on site in October 2022 to provide technical support and bring the work to a successful conclusion.

The eye-catcher “Mother” at the airport of Delta Airlines will continue to attract the attention of passengers for many years to come. It was a great pleasure for us to get to know Fred Wilson personally and to accompany him on his major art project.

Video about Fred Wilson´s artwork “Mother”: