Scottish artist Siobhan Healy has produced a sculptural artwork that references the exciting development of the UK’s first cubesat spaceship mission, due to be launched in 2012. Siobhan has produced this artwork by collaborating with Clydespace, based in Scotland – the leading supplier of micro spacecraft systems, who have designed this inspiring spacecraft.
The work to be displayed in the City Arts Centre, Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Science Festival – Intae Space 30th March 2012- 15th April 2012.
This combination of art and science will communicate to a wider audience that there are innovative and exciting developments in Scottish space exploration that can provide digital visualisation & mapping of the earth and space.
The piece will also provide information on the GPS device aimed at measuring plasmaspheric space weather; a camera that will take images of the Earth using a new generation of imaging sensor and also provide information and experiments in digital visualisation & mapping that UK students and the public can interact with. Siobhan has visualised her own fantastical version of the spacecraft; a kind of space-being which incorporates Zenon, and so is buzzing with colour and vitality. This will fuel the imagination of children and adults to imagine their own vehicle for space exploration!
This will be the first public showing of the work. Siobhan achieved funding from the New Arts Sponsorship Grant scheme to develop this piece.
Co-incidentally, this will be shown in the same year as the 2012 Cultural Olympiad in which, the whole of the UK will be celebrating our cultural achievements. In addition, Scotland may have another link with space travel because Richard Branson with Virgin Galactic has scouted out locations in Scotland as potential UK spaceports for space tourism. Exciting times!
