Plane Landing was conceived by artist Aleksandra Mir, commissioned by Compton Verney, with the support of The Arts Council of England (Collaborative Arts: National Touring Programme), and developed in partnership with Cameron Balloons of Bristol.

Mir’s vision centers on the creation of a purpose-designed helium balloon in the shape and size of a passenger jet plane. Suspended above the ground in a permanent state of landing, the plane will have its world premiere at Compton Verney against a quintessentially English backdrop, before embarking on a global tour to other ‘picture postcard’ destinations. Plane Landing is an event: the production of the balloon, its travel to new destinations, the inflation, its ‘landing’ and the documentation of all these parts constitute the artwork.

‘I had the idea here in England, when one hazy morning on the train from London to Bristol, I saw several back-lit planes at a distance, appearing one by one, seemingly suspended, completely motionless in the sky but obviously in the process of landing.

They made me think about physics, illusions, places, non-places, transitions, travel, tourist cultures, leisure economies, the behavioral patterns of the art world, kite flying, ballooning, park games, escapes, exiles, states, stateless-ness. I could talk about ALL of that while simultaneously further the proud tradition of women in aviation.’

Aleksandra Mir

Plane Landing is based on a simple conceit, where the primitive technologies of balloon travel masquerade as a high-tech jet plane, yet its engineering presents more than one fundamental paradox: how to make a balloon, using material that is lighter than air, in the shape of an object which was originally designed to carry over 400 tonnes of steel; how to balance a balloon in the form of a cross, when the perfect shape to sustain the elements is a sphere; how to tether the plane firmly to the ground, when its perfect aerodynamic shape will want it to fly. These are challenges faced by leading balloon manufacturers Cameron Balloons of Bristol and as such have taken the project out of the realm of aesthetics and into the fields of science, aeronautics, engineering and design.

Born in Poland in 1967, Aleksandra Mir is a citizen of Sweden who moved to New York in 1989 to study art and cultural anthropology. Mir's practice focuses on collaborations with a wide variety of institutions; the public and the academic realms, science, media and business. For each new work, a new model of production is developed.

Aleksandra has collaborated with various art institutions in the UK since 1998: CCA, Transmission gallery, The Modern Institute in Glasgow; Fruitmarket gallery in Edinburgh, Waygood gallery in Newcastle; the Barbican Centre, Cubitt and the ICA, London. She also held a residency at Delfina studios in the spring of 2001, where her work on Plane Landing and relationship with Compton Verney began. The commission offers an opportunity to bring this emerging international artist to a wider UK and international audience.

For more information: www.aleksandramir.info

Compton Verney, near Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, is a Grade-I listed building designed by the 18th-century architect Robert Adam. The house is set in 42 acres of grounds created by the famous landscape artist Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown.

Created by British philanthropist Sir Peter Moores, this new art gallery provides a wonderful environment in which visitors will be able to enjoy and explore art. Sir Peter was given a knighthood in the 2003 New Year’s Honours for charitable services to the arts.

Compton Verney was closed to visitors while the second phase of building work was underway, transforming a long-neglected country house into a state-of-the-art gallery. Plane Landing was one of a series of outdoor projects running in 2003 while the gallery is closed. The gallery opened fully to the public in March 2004.

The five permanent collections shown at Compton Verney are Southern European Art (1450–1800); Northern European Art (1450–1600); the British Collection (1500–1800); the Asian Collection (3000 BC–1500 AD); and the British Folk Art Collection (1770–1970). Alongside the permanent collections, Compton Verney hosts temporary exhibitions and commission contemporary art.

The Peter Moores Foundation is funding Compton Verney House Trust (CVHT), which restored Compton Verney and set up the new art gallery. A registered charity, CVHT relies on the support and generosity of other organizations and individuals to present temporary exhibitions and work with artists and visitor groups in the community.

The restored ground floor of the building was opened for a short ‘preview’ season in 1998. Since then there have been annual outdoor summer events and a lively educational program has been established with local communities.

Compton Verney is committed to providing visitors, especially those who do not traditionally visit art galleries, with informal, enjoyable and innovative ways of experiencing art.

For more information: www.comptonverney.org.uk

Don Cameron was a leading member of the small team that in 1966 built the first modern hot-air balloons in Western Europe. In 1971 he founded Cameron Balloons Ltd. in Bristol, UK. The company is the world’s largest manufacturer of hot-air balloons and Bristol has become the undisputed ballooning capital of the world.

A vastly experienced pilot, he studied aeronautical engineering at Glasgow University and Cornell University, USA, and has received the gold, silver and bronze medals of the British Royal Aero Club for his ballooning achievements. Don was the first man to cross the Sahara by hot-air balloon, as well as the Alps, and in 1980 made the first balloon flight between the UK and what was then the USSR. In 1992 he flew a balloon of his own design from Bangor, Maine, USA, to Portugal and took second place in the first ever transatlantic balloon race.

Cameron Balloons builds, on average, one balloon a day.

Cameron balloons built the first round-the-world balloon, the Breitling Orbiter III, in 1999 and are also the manufacturers of Steve Fosset’s Cameron R-550 Roziere, which just completed the first solo round-the-world flight.

Following these feats, Aleksandra’s proposal came in to the factory at a perfect time for Don Cameron to take on a new challenge. The development of Plane Landing required a completely new set of tools and great creativity and sensitivity to numerous factors to successfully merge art and science.

www.cameronballoons.co.uk