Ad Astra, or ‘to the stars’, is an exhibition of acrylic paintings dealing with mankind’s attempts to reach the stars, both physically and metaphorically. The works try to discover common cause between the widely differing interests of interplanetary groups, from the strictly hard science of the modern space industry to the more exotic beliefs of ufologists and fellow travellers. The works in this exhibition also touch on some of the secrecies and paranoia inherent in such activity.
‘From the vicinity of the moon on the way home I had a sense of
awe at the wonder of the universe and sensed an
interconnectedness that was beyond my previous experience.
Perceiving the separate galaxies and galactic clusters and stars
and planets but knowing that somehow they were interconnected
- and feeling a sense of wonder and joy and buoyancy associated
with that insight - I came to realize that our story of ourselves as
told by science and our religious cosmologies was incomplete
and flawed and that we needed a new story to answer the
questions in the space age of who we are, how we got here and
where we’re going.’
Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Lunar Module pilot and sixth person to walk on the Moon