In collaboration with astrophysicist Priya Natarajan, artist Antony Gormley has created a virtual reality installation called Lunatick.
Produced by VR company Acute Art, multiscale modelling and data courtesy of NASA is utilized to map out an immersive journey. Beginning on the island of Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in the Pacific Ocean, viewers are lead up to the clouds and into space where the surface and gravitational force of the moon alongside the “intricate landscape of the cosmos” is explored.
Lunatick concludes with the viewer heading towards the Sun until meeting a blinding white light.
“Our nearest neighbour is the Moon, and this project allows us to experience it as a found object in space, to explore its vast open spaces and swoop the ridges and valleys of its craters,” said Gormley. “This collaboration is an opportunity to experience the mind/body relationship in a new way and consider our own body’s relationship to other bodies in space.”
“This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing,” said Dr Natarajan. “Only 12 human beings have walked on the moon to date, but many unmanned missions have provided comprehensive high-resolution maps of the lunar surface.”
“We can experience walking on the moon, feel the sensation in our bodies and minds of stepping on the surface that has been so intricately mapped with data that space missions have provided,” noted Dr Natarajan.
“Having had some experience of virtual reality, it was clear to me that the technology was better at evoking space than it was at describing objects and I began to consider the possibility of making the body into a spaceship, which could explore the cosmic realities at the heart of Priya’s research,” explained Gormley. “I love the idea of extending the body’s capability and allowing it to travel at many times the speed of light.”
Presented at The Store X in London, UK, Lunatick can be experienced during the dates of April 5th until April 25th, 2019.
“I have always wanted to share the magic and majesty of the universe in a more intimate experiential way and this project Lunatick with Antony Gormley and Acute Art provided an exciting opportunity for just such a unique voyage of exploration,” stated Dr Natarajan.
“What thrills me most about Lunatick is how the combination of data, imagination and the latest technology can succeed in powerfully conveying how we as a species occupy this paradoxical place in the universe – we are simultaneously significant and insignificant,” said Natarajan.
“Strangely, it is technology that brings this into sharper focus better than any other medium,” added Dr Natarajan. “Maybe ultimately technology will help us find our place in the universe and become more responsible guardians of our precious home.”
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