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Giant Flamingo Sculpture Greets Visitors at the Tampa International Airport

By Sara Barnes on October 13, 2022

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When you’re stuck in an airport, sometimes for hours on end, the ambiance matters. Having public art installations in an airport makes a place that can be stressful (and annoying) feel a little brighter. Art breathes new life into a space and this evident at the Tampa International Airport which recently welcomed a giant flamingo in the center of its main terminal. Its pink neck and long, skinny legs descend from the ceiling and touch down near The Shoppes at Bayshore.

Titled HOME by artist Matthew Mazzotta, this colorful 22-foot-tall sculpture is accompanied by a ceiling that mimics the ripple of water. The lighting, which changes with the daylight outside, casts the same dappled glow onto the floor and creates the illusion that the flamingo has dipped its head underwater. Meant as an immersive experience, travelers are invited to step up to the art and find a moment of tranquility with one of Florida’s most iconic birds.

Mazzotta designed the flamingo to look as lifelike as possible. He hand-sculpted each part at scale and then cast them in a resin and fiberglass component. The elements were then painted to look realistic in their touch and sight. So, if you’re ever walking through the Tampa Airport, be sure to look for this incredible piece and enjoy its presence.