The Human Spaceship – Sea of the Edge
Helen Schell
10-26 October 2024
Helen Schell, Moon Rocket (Sea of the Edge), 2011, acrylic and pencil on canvas, 162x1,050cm. Photo: Colin Davison
Coinciding with World Space Week, this solo exhibition by British American artist, Helen Schell, is inspired by the challenges of twenty-first century human space exploration. The artworks depict the concept of movement in space conditions, whilst we balance on the edge of our human abilities, both mental and physical.
Within the context of the current NASA Artemis mission to return humans to the Moon (and Mars) to build permanent settlements, the work examines visual challenges in altered gravity (optical illusions) and concepts of wormholes (theoretical devices which could transport humans through space and time). Schell addresses the mechanisms of human physiology and psychology, employing bold geometric patterns and colour manipulation to ask why matter moves and why humans are compelled to migrate to hostile ‘alien’ worlds when Earth is our natural habitat. The artist employs creativity to unite the arts and sciences, proposing resolutions to these questions. This is further explored in her recently published research paper, The Human Spaceship – Off Balance.
Since 2008, Schell has investigated these themes, under the auspices of ‘The Human Spaceship’ project. This has been informed by visits to NASA, Johnson Space Center, and connected Houston space organisations, when she was guest artist at the Rice Space Institute in 2019. Related poster presentations have been shown at annual NASA Human Research Program Investigators Workshop 2022-24 and talks at several RISpace ‘Beyond the Moon’ conferences organised by the British Interplanetary Society.
Helen Schell. Photo: Colin Davison
Artist’s talk: The Human Spaceship – Off Balance
Wednesday 23 October 6-7.30pm
Informed by visits to NASA and the European Space Agency, Helen Schell will discuss her optical illusion artworks, which examine visual perception in altered gravity (on the Moon, Mars, and space stations). This connects to her pioneering paper which investigates lunar and Martian conditions by uniting art and science to address these exceptional challenges. She asks the question: can humans explore and live on other worlds? Admission to the talk is free but booking is required.
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