I absolutely love this image by South Korean artist Ho- Yeol Ryu. It is entitled ‘Flughafen’ which translates from German to ‘airport’ and documents multiple aircraft taking off from Hannover airport in Germany.
His intention is to draw our awareness to the high level of air traffic and the impact that this is having on our environment and on our climate. In my opinion he totally succeeds in creating a mesmerising, thought provoking image. Personally, I find the image stunning and simultaneously bleak and quite overwhelming. Can you believe how many aircraft roam our skies above us each and every day? Each on their own journey, their separate paths around the world to deliver us to our families or to our long awaited holiday destinations. And this happens all so seamlessly, so safely.. I can’t believe what a fantastic and incredibly testing job these air traffic controllers do on a daily basis, and this image really hits that home.
Many times after finishing a flight and getting in to my car to head home I have stopped to watch the aircraft land. It is inconceivable to me the amount of planes that I will watch glide towards the runway in a mere matter of minutes. Yet beyond that awe and incomprehension I must admit that I rarely connect this to the impact it must be having on our environment.
Admittedly I have loved the above image since I stumbled upon it over a year ago. Yet I hadn’t done any research into its concept until just today- before that it was just an intrigueing, whimsical composition. Apparently a plane lands every second in our major airports and air traffic is expected to double over the next twenty years. I can understand that the impact of flying on our environment can be a heated discussion for some, I haven’t got all the facts or the knowledge to be able to give a valued opinion of my own just yet, however after having some insight in to Ho- Yeol Ryu’s image I am certainly going to start a little research of my own.
Art has the power to provoke thought and debate and this image certainly does its concept justice.
Anyway, that’s enough chat from me, now for another image. I am not entirely sure who this one belongs to, however it could be a still from a film that American photographer Cy Kuckenbaker shot- another thought provoking layering of air traffic.
Under the Big Top 