Preview: Stardust, Riflemaker, Soho Square, London
It came from outer space. Well, sort of...
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.How do you make sculptures out of the stuff Nasa uses to catch stardust? The silicon-based aerogel used by the space agency to capture minute particles from space is to be exhibited to the public for the first time.
The New York-born artist Liliane Lijn, 69, has created four glowing sculptures out of this ethereal substance, which is 99 per cent air and 1 per cent glass, heated to become solid.
She was inspired by a residency in 2005 on the Nasa-funded Stardust mission at the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California, Berkeley. "When I examined the aerogel under an electron microscope, I was mesmerised by it."
Lijn is known for her kinetic sculptures dating back to the 1960s, including Liquid Reflections, a Perspex drum of water and acrylic balls on a motorised turntable. She draws inspiration from science, Oriental and Western philosophies and mythology.
The artist sent metal moulds to the Nasa labs to create the translucent aerogel sculptures, including the conical The Ruins of Kasch. Other works include Heavenly Fragments, Solar Disk and Burma Requiem, all of which have video images of Earth projected on to them.
Lijn describes the resulting sculptures as "holographic". She says: "I have worked with the scientists and the material with which they collected the dust to create a metaphorical dialogue that relates to their Stardust mission. My work is in essence an artist's vision of their project. I see the Stardust mission as an archaeology of outer space."
Catching stardust is a long process, Lijn says. "A collector is left out in space for two years to catch a couple of dust particles. They are invisible to the naked eye. Even one particle of interstellar dust contained in cubes of aerogel would be worth millions of dollars. So you can imagine they would be rather careful with it."
Lijn recently completed Starslide, a fibreglass sculpture/helter-skelter for the new Evelina Children's Hospital in London. She hopes to create large-scale solar installations in the Hollywood Hills that will define the horizon with light.
To 14 June (020-7439 0000)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments