Welcome to the Flight Exhibition, a selection of artists’ mobiles celebrating Dagenham’s history of aviation and its transmigratory population. Eleven artists and eleven writers explore this multi-layered theme during March and April at the Pink Tardis Gallery, Heathway Shopping Centre, Dagenham.
Stare through the Pink Tardis window and marvel at these suspended sculptures, prototypes, and conceptual clouds. If you can't see the exhibition in person then don't worry, we'll be featuring all seventeen artworks here on the website. Every artwork has its very own dedicated writer, and we'll publish their responses here throughout March and April 2026.
Fizzing with humour we find Eskild Beck's delightful corkscrew tail bird flapping its feathery wings in the sky today. Eskild is the curator of Aabenraa's famous Miniart projects, this year he is organising the third instalment of Small Worlds, the exhibition of tiny and imaginative 10cm sculptures and artworks. For more details visit the website.
Words are from equally whimsical Dom O'Reilly, read them below.......
One of the great unwritten texts of history is how champagne was once the preferred fuel for aviation.
In those days of flying follies when any means of propulsion was considered, aviators seized upon the oomph that the pop of a champagne cork provided. Back then there was none of that ‘cruising at 35,000 feet’ lark. Merely breezing along higher than a giraffe’s horns was sufficient.
Without knowledge of propane or other fancy fuels, the derring-do types worked with what they had and a bumper grape harvest meant a surplus of fizz.
The force of expelling the cork gave the impetus to get air bound and engineers became skilled in judging when to pop the next one. For thrill-seekers they would wait until the plane skimmed the ground, for luxury travellers they would ensure a smooth ride.
It was risky but the passengers were distracted by the plentiful supplies of champagne that were the byproduct of the engine be it a Magnum for a cross-Channel hop or a Nebuchadnezzar for treks to the Antipodes.
Sadly, a class system kicked in. The airlines’ marketing tapped into the innate vice of snobbery and it became all about the fuel. Superficial types believed that a vintage Dom Perignon was ‘the only way to travel, darling’. Others, who prized value above all, were drawn to airlines who relied on Cava or Prosecco.
It became known as the ‘Wars of the Bubble Bubble’ and the great fizz fuel boom collapsed. Now, instead of organic propulsion we have flights based around aviation fuel that is killing the planet and which serve up warm white plonk best described as Chateau Antifreeze.
The glamour has gone and so has the ingenuity. In every way, flying has gone flat.
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Eskild Beck was trained in graphic design, art, and restoration, in Copenhagen and New York. His work has been exhibited in museums and public collections in Denmark, South Korea, Japan, Egypt, Germany, and many more countries.
www.starflight.dk/
As a journalist Dom O'Reilly reported from 26 countries from Afghanistan to Serbia covering everything from Olympics to revolutions. He wrote for newspapers which included The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Toronto Globe & Mail, Glasgow Herald and Sunday Herald and The Scotsman and Sunday on Sunday. Dom is currently exploring new avenues for his creativity.
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