TERRI PHILLIPS

PHANTOM WAVES

NOVEMBER 2024

glistening against merciful water

a stingray

a jellyfish 

a glazed donut

hovering over little fish

the eye of the storm 

watches carefully

boots of glass

sand in her pocket

a compass full of water

in a boat of ice

a single feather cannot carry 

you home

Phantom Waves is Terri Phillips’ first installation on the East Coast. Here, wedding dresses drifting on the waves serve as a symbol of mystery, recklessness and hope. This playful and poignant work, evincing Phillips’ distinctive articulated fragility, was partly inspired by Powell and Pressburger’s 1945 film, I Know Where I’m Going, in which Joan Webster sees her wedding dress tossed from a boat into a stormy sea while attempting to make it to her wedding on time. The gallery, curated by the artist Kevin Ford, is situated on a tiny island off the coast of Connecticut, and is accessible only by boat.