Untitled from Flight Fantasy series
- Artist: David Hammons
- Date: 1995
- Medium: Paint, metal wire, human hair, glass and plastic netting
- Dimensions: Overall display dimensions variable
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
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About this artwork
This is the “Untitled” from the Flight Fantasy series by David Hammons, created in 1995. The piece starts with a fresh, red‑and‑gold wall that Hammons paints using two rollers—one in a paisley‑like pattern, the other in a wood‑grain relief. Mid‑wall, curved metal wires rise, threaded with dense balls of human hair that look like a flock of birds in flight. Suspended along the wires are faceted glass droplets, echoing chandelier light, and a single strip of orange plastic netting that hints at everyday packaging.
The original version appeared in 1995 at New York’s A Gathering of the Tribes, a salon in the East Village. As the neighborhood gentrified, the wall became the center of a planning dispute, sparking debate over cultural heritage and the very definition of art. The work was later acquired by collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos and donated to the collection in 2023 as part of the D.Daskalopoulos Collection Gift.
Hammons’ use of hair—drawn from the community and from the barbershop above his studio—adds a communal, almost ritualistic layer to the installation, while the wires and glass create a sense of movement and fragility.
See it in person
Untitled from Flight Fantasy series is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
