Orla Fox

I was struggling to come up with an idea regarding a creative workshop surrounding Supernova, since the subject is incredibly complex and astronomy is not usually taught at schools. I began to look through my portfolio of work pertaining to the idea development of my Supernova sculpture and came across my sunflower seed mosaics. The mosaics were inspired by my research into Alchemist Robert Fludd (1574-1637) produced multiple drawings depicting genesis in Utriusque Cosmi (1617). Fludd also believed that ‘For every flower on earth had its corresponding star in the sky.’ (2025, p.22). Artist Anselm Kiefer (b.1945) produced paintings based on Robert Fludd, in The Orders of the Night (Die Orden der Nacht)(1996)depicting himself laying amongst sunflowers and looking up towards the sky. 

The combination of all works, particularly with Utriusque Cosmi (1617) which I believe look like Supernovae, led to me to the creation of my sunflower mosaics, inspired by the images of Utriusque Cosmi, but using sunflower seeds as a material to evoke the flower like nature of Supernovae and its connection with Fludd’s belief of the interconnection between the macro and the micro.

I believe that this is the creative activity that I can carry into the workshop, since Supernovae are such complex subjects, using metaphor and analogy by comparing supernovae to flowers and the scattering of elements as seeds, which will create new stars and planets, the subject can become more age appropriate and lead into a creative activity where all pupils can produce their own sunflower seed mosaic.

‘The beautiful exploding flowers called Supernovas illuminate a moving theme indeed: matter’s slow ascent to glory… Generously they open like blossom, showering space with their myriad winged atoms’ (Michel Cassé, 2003).