From 14/07/26 – 17/07/26 I had an exhibition for my sculpture ‘Creation through Destruction Supernovae: Seeds of Light’, as the sculpture is an installation piece, it required space where the public could view it. Exhibited in the John Lennon Art & Design Building, inside the X Gallery, the sculpture was installed suspended by copper coated steel wire to emulate an astronomical event in space; suspended within a vacuum, as written in my Exhibition statement: ‘Creation through Destruction invites you to reflect, observe and orbit’. The X Gallery was chosen as a space because of its lack of windows, therefore controlled lighting could be used. Several spotlights were installed from the ceiling to create shadows and allow the texture of the copper, as well as the shadows of the sculpture to emerge.
On the opening night, Professor Andy Newsam from the Astrophysics Research Institute generously provided additional context on the phenomena of supernovae with a 10 minute presentation how the event occurs and its context within the Universe.
Alongside the installation was a short film documenting the process of making the sculpture utilising destructive intervention such as bashing and fumage of copper, this short film provided documentation of my methods and demonstrated my own material encounter and the enactment of the practice-led figure of the Alchemist-as-Observer. The audio of the video, which also provided ambient sound for the exhibition was sonified astronomical data of celestial objects, such as galaxies, stellar novae, dust-clouds and supernovae, as an additional endeavour in making the Universe tangible.
Anonymous Feedback
In order to assess the success of the exhibition in terms of knowledge transfer; change in attitude regarding the intersection of Astronomy, Art and Alchemy; and strongest impacts, I created an anonymous Pre and Post Exhibition feedback form. This feedback will contribute to the next installation of the sculpture and audience response to my outcome of ‘Performative Research’ (Haseman, 2006).
Key Finding from Feedback: Pre Exhibition
•18 Participants (3 Experts, 15 Non-Experts)
•100% had a positive attitude towards the representation of Astronomy in Art
•All 3 of the experts associated copper with electricity or conductivity
•17% associated magic/protoscience with alchemy
•Many participants talked about seeing the invisible/ making Astronomy more accessible
•Multiple participants suggested understanding was aided by Presentation from ProfessorAndy Newsam
Key Findings from Feedback: Post Exhibition
•12 Participants (3 Experts, 9 non-Experts)
•Strongest impacts:
45% texture, 36% shadows, 66%colour
• 58% explicitly interpreted the work as representing a supernova, stellar explosion, or cosmic event.
• 33% focused on themes of creation, regeneration, or the cycle of destruction and renewal.
• 25% specifically reference cosmicorigins
• 55% of respondents emphasised immersion and spatial experience, while 36% said it made supernovae feel more tangible or understandable.
• 92% increased understanding, appreciation or reflection
• 1 participant no change in perception
Overview of Findings
• Introduce to an audience beyond the University environment to see if people are as open to an art/astronomy/alchemy (art-science crossover)
•Multiple participants suggested understanding was aided by Presentation from Professor Andy Newsam
•Knowledge transfer was successful and increased accessibility to astronomical phenomena
•Perception of Alchemy changed into analogy for transformation
•Expert suggested incorporating movement to assist in transformative nature