Sail Away is an ever expanding, large scale installation comprised of hundreds of small boats made from paper money, tickets and maps from all over the world. The artist Susan Stockwell encourages visitors to engage and contribute by making their own ships to add to the collection. Stockwell crafted the small boats by hand, folding and sewing global currency to form the hulls, masts, and sails of the miniature flotilla. The masts themselves are made of a variety of simple objects, such as knitting needles, skewer sticks, and paintbrushes.
Stockwell is interested in exploring the ideas of international connectivity through travel and trade, global exchange and the personal and social history derived from these contacts. She uses the single unifier of paper currency to represent the unknown links we have with one another. Each type of currency has its own conceived history, cultural significance, and responsibility to its country of origin and each individual bill creates a connection to the people who have already handled it in the far corners of the world.
