The Lunar Mission Gallery
Artwork inspired by mapping of the south polar region of the moon
Moonlight
The image shows an area with the south pole at its centre, and where the Luna Mission One robotic lander planned to drive human discovery about our world and neighbour. The mission was to leave an archive of life on earth, together with countless digital memories.
The moon is often viewed of as a powder grey, lifeless sphere - a distant place of dry desolation - and yet it exerts a powerful and present influence on us. I've tried to touch on this by presenting the moon in a way that reflects its potency.
Our need to map the surface of the moon has always been a fascination to me since the time I browsed the pages of my first Luna atlas as a young boy. Maps of the earth or of an area close to home are not only made to journey, but also as a result of the desire for economic control, assertion, or self advantage. In contrast, creating a map of the moon seems more driven by curiosity and our thirst for a broader context.
There is something satisfying, comforting, and beautiful when I look at a well produced map. I search for form and structure, I try to fathom the scale of a place, how I might stand there, how I might feel. Maps connect me. My hope with the work Moonlight is that it encourages us to view the familiar in a different light.
