ADAM NORTON

Ad Astra

21 July – 14 August 2010

Gallery 9, Sydney


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

Read more...
The Mars Underground
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
115 × 210 cm

Area 51
2008
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
200 × 118 cm

Phobos II
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board
73 × 73 cm (framed)

Library of Truth and Fiction
2008 - 2010
synthetic polymer on board, found objects
Dimensions variable

Fallout Shelter
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board
46 × 33 cm

Extraterrestrial Highway
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board, PVC pipe, expandable foam
300 × 183 × 50 cm

Prohibited Area
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board, wooden poles, bolts
240 × 122 × 7 cm

Warning Military Installation
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board, poles, bolts
237 × 155 × 4 cm

Woomera
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board
183 × 29 cm

Warning Lights
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board, pole, bolts
200 × 45 cm

Alien Warning
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board
60 × 70 cm

109 East Place
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board
40 × 65 cm

Sortie Vehicules
2010
synthetic polymer paint on board
61 × 61 cm

Space Flags
2010
acrylic on paper
3 x 57 × 9 x 76 cm

SETI Institute
2010
acrylic on paper
57 × 76 cm (framed)

Alien Head 1
2010
synthetic polymer paint on steel
31 × 31 cm

Alien Head 2
2010
synthetic polymer paint on steel
33 × 33 cm

JG Ballard
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
30 × 20 cm (framed)

Aleister Crowley
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
30 × 25 cm (framed)

PK Dick
2010
synthetic polymer paint on aluminium
32 × 22 cm

Charles Fort
2010
synthetic polymer paint on steel
41 × 27 cm

Yuri Gagarin
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
30 × 25 cm (framed)

Robert Goddard
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
30 × 25 cm (framed)

Allen Hynek
2010
synthetic polymer paint on aluminium
32 × 22 cm

Jacques Vallee
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
30 × 30 cm (framed)

Sergi Korolyov
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
30 × 25 cm (framed)

Timothy Leary
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
30 × 25 cm (framed)

John Mack
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
30 × 25 cm (framed)

Jill Tarter
2010
synthetic polymer paint on steel
31 × 36 cm

Wernher von Braun
2010
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
30 × 30 cm (framed)