(Courtesy of the MiG-21 Project)

Seattle’s Museum of Flight is taking a bold and very colorful step in the world of art and aviation.

Starting June 21, the museum is displaying The MiG-21 Project. The installation is the culmination of South African artist Ralph Ziman’s multi-year collaborative effort to cover a decommissioned Cold War-era, Soviet-designed MiG-21 fighter jet with tens of millions of colorful glass beads.

The exhibit will be onsite until January 26, 2026.

Why do it? Ziman says his goal was to “to take the most mass-produced supersonic fighter aircraft and turn it from a machine of war into something that looks beautiful” and changes its meaning.

Ziman and a fabrication team of craftspeople and artists from Zimbambwe, South Africa and Los Angeles did just that. Working across time zones and through a variety of challenges, including the pandemic, they covered the aircraft’s 51-foot by 24-foot surface with beaded panels in colors and patterns that are meant to convey peace, cultural pride, and a joyous celebration of life.

The inside of the cockpit got the full beaded treatment as well. Here’s a link to a cool 360 cockpit view.

(courtesy MiG-21 Project)

In addition to covering the MiG-21 with beads, Ralph Ziman and his fabrication team created regalia inspired by the beaded panels of the aircraft and incorporating bits and pieces of the aircraft.

These Afrofuturistic flight suits draw influence from military flight suits, African tribal textiles and space travel.

(Courtesy MiG 21 project)

As impressive as the MiG-21 exhibit is, consider that the MiG-21 is the final piece artwork in Ralph Ziman’s 12-year Weapons of Mass Production Trilogy, which addresses the impact of the arms trade on global conflicts and the continued militarization of police forces around the world.

(Image courtesy Nic Hofmeyr)

Here’s a short video that explains the larger MiG-21 Project.