Flamin-go with Love
Fiona Aboud (Brazilian-American based in East Harlem, New York, NY) presents "Flamin-go with Love,” made in collaboration with Richard Polo and Creatress.
This sculpture reminds the viewer that we can choose to bring more love into the world through our actions and highlight the warm light of love in a world that can otherwise feel full of darkness. It is also a celebration of humanity's ability to solve human problems using technology.
‘Flamin-go with Love’ is a technology-driven art movement aimed at tackling the pre-eminent sustainable development goal of the United Nations: the eradication of poverty in all its forms at the global level. The physical and digital iterations of this art project harnesses the power of blockchain technology to distribute funds to the under-resourced community of Coroadinho in Maranhão, Brazil - the artist’s birthplace.
Some constituents receiving these cryptocurrency payments are earning under $2 a day, living in extreme poverty and often subsisting without access to running water or consistent electricity. Art often speaks to social issues, but now, with this technology, it can impact the issues it speaks to by providing direct resources to individuals in need of support.
By focusing on the power of a 'flamboyance,' or a flock of flamingos, to be a force of resilience --often surviving inhospitable climates such as salt flats -- Aboud shows us how to band together to enact global change. With a red flamingo symbolizing the strength of individual connections, a pink flamingo symbolizing global interconnectivity, and a heart capturing the power of love and the human spirit's capacity for care, "Flamin-go with Love" reminds us that by joining forces, we can bring the power of love to those who may otherwise feel powerless.
How does this all work?
Through the digital AR sculpture, and derivative art works we…
-raise money and transfer it to people earning under $2 a day and living in extreme poverty (in most cases without access to running water and consistent electricity.)
-money is transferred across the world in seconds directly to individuals' phones, eliminating the need for an intermediary.
-we work with Impact Market that has the infrastructure and the communities on boarded to receive this unconditional basic income.
2. Through our physical sculpture we…
-bring it to locations to teach people about this technology and to support installing the physical sculpture in neighborhoods that are undeserved by public art.
- The sculpture has lived at burning man in 2023 and 2024, the Herb Garden on E111th St in East Harlem NY, Xposure Gallery in Chelsea, MOGA/NFC music festival in Lisbon Portugal, and as a floating sculpture during the Venice Biennale in 2024. We hope to one day install the sculpture in the community it helps support in Brazil. Please reach out if you have any recommendations for the sculpture to go next.
