Orla Linehan-Fox
I am a practice-based artist and researcher passionate about the representation of astronomy and alchemy within art. My work endeavours to make astrophysical phenomena tangible through sculptural installation, using lo-fi materials, such as, paper, wire, and, in particular, working with the materiality of light. Some of sculptural work I have created is in response to astrophysical phenomena such as Black Holes, Dark Matter, and the materiality of Space Time and Light.
In 2023 I completed a residency at Goonhilly Earth Station, Helston, Cornwall, where I produced a sculpture of radio waves in response to on the ground research, looking inside satellites and seeing how the station operates. I was also able to witness the Intuitive Machine’s Lunar landing as Goonhilly played a key role in its success. The residency culminated in the installation of my sculpture First Light in Goonhilly’s control tower. The work is a conceptual realisation of radio waves captured by satellites alongside cosmic background radiation, where light manifests in a tangible form.
My current area of research focuses on the interdisciplinary crossover between art, astronomy and alchemy, with particular focus on the practice of observing the cosmos. This research path has led into discourse around optics in alchemy, the foundational work of ancient optical researchers and how this has led to astronomy as we know it today.
In my ongoing sculpture practice, I am working to expand my skillset through the introduction of copper and metalwork, using the phenomenon of supernovae to explore the continual cycle of creation and destruction in alchemy and within the cosmos.
Orla Fox 