My Hildegarde

Melrose Park, NSW, 2021
Composite, Stainless Tube
With TARRMACstudio – Jon Tarry

The piece pays respect to the achievements of aviator Charles Melrose. An aviator and aircraft create a special dynamic. Charles Melrose and the DH Puss Moth ‘My Hildergarde’ (VH-UQO) created history traversing great distances and drawing once-distant places closer together. During their record-breaking solo flights, the (My) Hildergarde and pilot inspiresd a beautiful relationship between human and technology of the day. This personification is clear through the prefix of ‘My’ (Hildergarde) revealing the importance of the aircraft to Charles. One can only imagine how at home he must have felt within the confines of My Hildergarde during these marathon flights. His memory fine-tuned to the controls and the familiarity with all the characteristics and behavior. The sounds, the atmosphere, shifting of weather conditions in time and place. As if the aircraft and human have become one.