When I Grow Up...

2015, old steel plates, wood, fiberglass, enamel and latex balloons, 61 X 96 X 15 in., 175 lbs.

Corporate collection in Bellevue, Washington
“When I Grow Up...” (2015) by Keith Francis. This 61 by 96 by 15-inch installation is centered around a large, white-painted peace sign set against a backdrop of heavily weathered and rusted industrial steel plates salvaged from the Wamsutta Mills. A life-size black stencil of a young boy is suspended in the air, his body central to the peace sign. He grips a small cluster of helium-filled latex balloons (purple, red, blue, green, and yellow) that float above the industrial metal. The artwork uses a salvaged freight door with a deep history of military production to critique the intersecting narratives of childhood play, industry, and war, drawing on the artist’s family ties to the mill and personal memories of the Vietnam War era.

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