A horse with its ribs up is learning to fly
2021, bone char, cotton, polyurethane, steel, 215 × 120 × 250 cm
2021, bone char, cotton, polyurethane, steel, 215 × 120 × 250 cm
In Greek mythology, Pegasus is a horse that never had to learn to fly. It was simply born with wings and knew what to do right away, like birds. No wonder then that people used to see Pegasus as an opportunity for a ride in the air, especially in the times when planes were still a thing of a distant future and the story of Daedalus and Icarus was used to scare naughty kids. Bellerophon, Prince of Corinth, flew on the winged horse frequently – until he decided to take a flight over Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. When he mounted Pegasus and soared into the sky, the gods sent a fly after him, which bit the horse in the rump. Bellerophon fell and then roamed the earth, unhappy with how the events unfolded.
The next generations were much more cautious with Pegasus – above all, it became a symbol of artistic inspiration and poetic fame. At the end of the 19th century, it also began to show up in the logotypes of companies connected with the transport and fuel industry. One must admit that a combination of glory with an attempt at conquering the skies is pretty explosive.
cooperation: Kasper Lecnim
text: Aleksy Wójtowicz