A
jet
crashes
into the Mediterranean
all the men have unicorns on their ties
except for the crew
private flight
business
trip
Dr Katnap
arrives at the scene
he knows he is here to investigate
the plane crash that happened 40 years prior
but he cannot quite remember
if he is here in his role
as a coroner
or
is it
research
for his art practice
he has completely forgotten
that I was the one who sent him
I sent him because my grandfather
was on that fateful flight
the Dr is sat
on the promenade
facing the rocky beach
the expansive sky
the calm sea
a plane is passing
across his field of vision
coming into land at the airport
which is situated on the seafront
this placement pricks the Dr’s interest
for it is located between
land sea and sky
he considers
airport
sea port
portals
between land masses
he thinks about how the
sea and the sky are the in-between
spacers that contain the inhabited land
they fill the gaps in-between nation states
they exist as states of liquid and gas
that serve and support the land
the airport is stateless
international
the Dr
is sitting
thinking this
while scantily dressed
bodies decorate the beach
topless men topless women
but the coroner is dressed in a dark pinstripe suit
perspiring but determined to keep himself presentable
he reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief
but his hand stumbles upon something else
a small black and white photograph
it is a portrait of a well dressed
middle aged white man
quite unremarkable
that is except
for his tie
which
features
the profile of a unicorn
Dr Katnap studies the image
he then produces a magnifying glass
he inspects the surface of the print
he hones in on the unicorn
pausing in curiosity
the emblem
starts to turn brown
then wafts of smoke
begin to flicker into flame
Dr Katnap keeps his hand still
the unicorn gives way to a hole
small at first but quickly spreading to the edges
the old photograph is fully alight
the flames lick the Dr’s hand
he winces but holds on
a breeze blows in
now he releases
fragments
scatter
into
sea
the image
of the man
meets a similar fate
of its unfortunate counterpart
both engines caught fire you see
fire in the air seeking earth
but only finding water
40 years to the day
scorching heat
beautiful sea
thinking
of that
plane
a fire
ball
across
the horizon
interrupting the sun
bathers on the beach
disturbing the everyday
Nice may not be so nice
Written in Nice, France
Exhibited at Quivering Horizons, Berwick-upon-Tweed, UK
Sep 2019