Lunatick
April 5–25, 2019
London WC2R 1E
UK
“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.” –Antony Gormley
Acute Art is delighted to announce the launch of Antony Gormley and Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan’s first virtual reality collaboration, Lunatick, at The Store X at 180 The Strand in London on April 5, 2019.
Lunatick, which is produced by Acute Art, uses data collected by NASA to map a real and interactive journey, leaving Earth to pass through the atmosphere, stratosphere, the asteroid belt, and into outer space.
Gormley, one of the most renowned British contemporary artists working today, collaborated with Dr. Natarajan, an acclaimed astrophysicist and Professor at Yale University, to create an immersive experience that treats the body as a vessel free from gravity, in order to bring the haptic experience of space alive.
To produce the piece, Acute Art used multiscale modelling to recreate tiny elements such as flowers and the colossal objects of the Earth, Moon and the Sun. One of the most significant challenges was to create an optic sensation of the real size of an object, within the infinite scale of the cosmos.
“What Antony Gormley’s art always reminds us of is the fundamental fact that we are embodied beings. Our perception of the world and of others takes place through senses that link our incarnated subjectivity to an outside. I understand Gormley’s Lunatick, his virtual exploration of our heavenly spheres, as a continuation of his sculptural practice. Isn’t the moon an astonishing work of sculpture?” –Daniel Birnbaum
“My work has always tried to explore the dialectic between the body as an object in space and the body as a place containing the infinitude of space.” –Antony Gormley
“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. Lunatick is an open invitation to a bold, new adventure that till now only 12 other men have had the privilege to embark on.” –Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan, Astrophysicist and Professor at Yale University
Book your tickets here to experience Lunatick at The Store X at 180 The Strand, London from April 5–25, 2019.
About Antony Gormley
Antony Gormley was born in London in 1950. He is widely acclaimed for his sculptures, installations and public artworks that investigate the relationship of the human body to space. His work has developed the potential opened up by sculpture since the 1960s through a critical engagement with both his own body and those of others in a way that confronts fundamental questions of where human beings stand in relation to nature and the Cosmos. His most famous public works include Angel of the North (Gateshead, England), a 20-metre-tall sculpture made from stainless steel, with a wingspan measuring 54 meters across, and Another Place (Crosby Beach, England) which consists of 100 iron figures, modelled on the artist’s own naked body, facing towards the sea.
Gormley was awarded the Turner Prize in 1994 and was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1997. In 2014 he was made a knight in the New Year’s Honours list. His work has been widely exhibited throughout the UK and internationally with exhibitions at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge (2018); the Long Museum, Shanghai (2017); National Portrait Gallery, London (2016); and Forte di Belvedere, Florence (2015). In September 2019, a major solo exhibition of his work will be presented at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Gormley lives and works in London.
About Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan
Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan, is an Indian-American astrophysicist and Professor in the Departments of Astronomy and Physics at Yale University. She is recognised for her key contributions to two of the most challenging problems in cosmology: mapping dark matter and tracing the accretion history of black holes. Her work using gravitational lensing techniques to map the granularity of dark matter that has provided important new insights into its elusive nature. She has pioneered the development of models that describe the formation, assembly and growth history of black holes that have a provided a deeper understanding of these enigmatic objects. An interdisciplinary scholar, she is intellectually interested in the history & philosophy of science and is deeply invested in the public understanding of science.
About Acute Art
Acute Art works with today’s most compelling artists, bringing together technology and artistic vision. Currently working across virtual and augmented realities, it produces original digital artworks and makes these accessible to everyone through its free app (App Store | Google Play) and creative collaborations. The company also works as a digital art laboratory, exploring new mediums for experimental art-making and identifying creative ways for it to be experienced and displayed.
About The Store X
The Store X is a platform for ideas and culture. With a program encompassing fashion, art, music, design and beyond, The Store X engages a global community of innovators and curious creatives via its spaces at 180 The Strand in London, Soho House in Berlin and Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire.
