Full Circle (ii) (2023)
Two channel HD video with sound, 7:10min looped
How the earth will approach you (2023)
Timber, paint, etched mirror, hand blown glass, light, motors, wire
Dimensions variable
These works for consider the length of a human life in connection to transitions and cycles in the cosmos; the circular, orbital, elliptical and eclipse. Drawing on historic astronomical illustrations and manuscripts documenting the movements and appearance of comets, the work loops between the earthly and otherworldly in an attempt to bring the human condition and cosmic forces into close relationship.
Full Circle (ii) began with the realisation that Halley’s Comet will appear twice in my lifetime; once at the very beginning, and again somewhere towards the end. The duration of Halley’s orbit closely coincides with the length of an average global human life. Linking cosmic and human timespans, the visualisation of a comet’s elliptical path illustrated within a simple image, brings a strange comfort. This work questions the notion that life moves in a straight line, from here in the present moment out into the deep unknown. Like the cyclical trajectories of comets, the circular perspective presents an alternate view, where a life is defined by a departure and a return. Exploring the human desire to reduce complex structures and concepts into simplified symbols and visual representations, Full Circle (ii) takes shape in the knowledge that our fate is intertwined with the events and laws of the universe.
Conceived as both cosmic eggs and astronomical diagrams, the suspended structures in How the earth will approach you (2023) are intended to be viewed as drawings in space. While Full Circle (ii) relies on speculation, imagination and abstract cosmic thinking, these works attempt to bring such theoretical notions into the physical realm and present moment, bringing large concepts down to in human in scale. Mirrored in both form and material, each whole is formed by a set of two, each signifying a departure and return.
This project was developed during a residency at Canberra Glassworks in 2023, supported by an Arts Project grant from the Australia Council for the Arts.
Photos: Christian Capurro.