Dean Reddick (with Bella Weerasinghe) - Flight exhibition

Dean Reddick

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.

The sculpture in the Pink Gallery today makes you think of so many different sayings and idioms, Tarred and feathered, or perhaps Holding out an olive branch. But we prefer On a wing and a prayer, a phrase originally associated with the British Royal Air Force during WW2. The artwork is the creation of Dean Reddick, one of the founding members of CollectConnect, an artist who loves to work with, and often on trees.

Dean's sculpture has inspired a new piece of writing from Bella Weerasinghe, a new contributor to CollectConnect. 

flight: dreams of

you can run like thunder
your jaw can crush cars
but your back cannot be scratched
by your tiny, clawed arms

for there’s an itch you can’t quite reach
under rough and scaly skin
where your neck meets your spine
a peculiar prickling

it started when you ate a bird
ripping flesh from limb and wing
the taste impeccable, delectable
the texture; addicting

feathers fill your mouth
getting stuck between sharp teeth
flight fills your dreams at night
catching clouds in your sleep

you’ve been alone for so long
but you wish desperately for a flock
to swoop and soar and dive with,
not to roar, but to squawk

you mimic the migrating crowds
following the shadows they spit on the ground
more creatures join in the stampede
but you’re the fastest biped around

the light in the sky is blinding
hellfire burns your eyes
so, you miss the rough edge of the cliff
and finally, you can fly

you’ve won and you’re winning
willing the wings to sprout
and as feathers finally start to grow

the sun comes
crashing

down

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Dean Reddick is an artist and an art therapist. He frequently works with casting processes and loves drawing trees.
https://deanreddick.blogspot.com/

Bella Weerasinghe is a poet, writer, and performer. She has recently performed her poetry at the National Gallery, Poetry Society and various spaces in Kingston upon Thames, where she was a student.
https://bellaiw.com/