Kathryn Cellerini Moore
Kathryn Cellerini Moore
T. Darter Party on Wheels
2025
video, bicycle, battery powered projector, fish costume
dimensions variable
power source: rechargeable battery, human power, grid
video credit: Jay Cathcart
photography credit: Randel C. Moore
Blue Goose Caboose event organized by Madalyn Wofford and @Swannatopia
Brief Artist Statement
I caught up with Professor Pat Ciccotto following a climate summit I’d heard him speak at regarding the recovery of fish populations in the Swannanoa River
post-Hurricane Helene.
Professor Ciccotto spoke about a number of fish species during his presentation, but one in particular caught my attention. The Tangerine Darter, according to Pat, was reintroduced to the Swannanoa River by Warren Wilson College students prior to the hurricane. It is a darter native to the Swannanoa River. In the immediate months following the hurricane, he and the students began resurveying areas of the river to see which fish species were still observable, and the Tangerine Darter was still with us.
With the happy news that our reintroduced species was still in the river even after the historic flooding, I asked Professor Ciccotto use some of his original tangerine darter footage. To celebrate this fish, honor conservation and restoration efforts by our students and faculty, and to champion the resilience of our community members who, like the tangerine darter, are persevering in the face of ongoing rebuilding challenges, I created a mobile bicycle projector. We engineered a projector mount for the back of a bicycle, strapped on a battery-powered projector, and projected moving images of tangerine darters adorned with fabulous sparkle and rainbows. This work was premiered in the Blue Goose Caboose parade through downtown historic Swannanoa, and the projected large-scale moving image of the tangerine darter graced the sides of the buildings, cars, and people as I rode by as part of the troop.
