Verdant: Moon Gallery ISS Test Mission
Verdant, glass and thread microgravity sculpture, 15 x 8 mm
Responding to an international open call to artists, Verdant was among 64 artworks selected to travel to the International Space Station in February 2022 with the Moon Gallery Foundation. The first gallery of its kind in space, it represents the hopes, dreams and ideas of all humanity as we explore life beyond the planet. The aim of the Moon Gallery is to install a permanent gallery on the Moon but this pioneering version will returned safely to earth in January 2023. See a short film about the work here.
This tiny glass sculpture is an experimental art piece exploring weightlessness, moving form and light in space. The tethered glass sculpture will float and change shape as it fills its container, each part intimately affected by its individual mass. I hope to see how the unfiltered light in space changes the colour and perception of the beads and fluorescent green thread.
The sculpture is based on the core structure of the chlorophyll molecule (1 magnesium + 4 nitrogen atoms), essential to all plant life on earth and key to human survival in space. As we contemplate life away from our planet, we will naturally reflect on what makes our world beautiful and sustainable for humans and the eco system. The verdant green of the hills, valleys and foliage of earth will be hard to replicate on another celestial body, highlighting how biologically and aesthetically connected we are to this narrow spectrum of colour.
I have produced a special edition signed print of Verdant, available in my shop. Follow the story on Instagram. I have also written a blog about this and another space art project here.
March 2022 Moon Gallery/Nanoracks unit on the ISS with 64, 1cm square artwork compartments. Verdant is in the second row up from the bottom, 3rd from the right.
View of the Hurtwood Forest in Surrey, UK, not far from my studio
Making Verdant under a magnifying glass
NFT animation and boxed artwork