INVITE to About, above: Part 1

Cardboard planetarium - first outing.

Please be advised that on Friday 22nd + Saturday 23rd February, 2008, there will be three Cardboard Planetariums installed throughout the Sydney CBD, rain, hail or shine. You are very much invited. Details of exact locations will be advised on this website on Thursday 21st Feb.

The splendor of the night sky has been a source of wonder, discovery and agitation for our species throughout human history. The observation of the heavens has defined religions, revolutionized scientific thought, guided navigators, and inspired countless mythologies. It has been said that 'they who cannot see the night sky, cannot see...'

In most urban environments, and cities in particular, light pollution renders the night sky down to a few of the brightest stars and planets, obscuring the majority of what has been so essential to our species' development. Perhaps it doesn't matter. Perhaps the stimulus of stargazing is not essential to a happy life. But just in case...

The Cardboard Planetariums will be found throughout the city, hanging in space, rotating lazily around their central hanging axis. You are welcome to duck inside, and to stand for a moment (or as long as you like) inside a solar-powered simulation of the night sky.

These cardboard universes, created with pinholes, contain a starchart accurate to 12 Midnight on Friday 22nd Feb, 2008. A solar-powered simulation of what is hidden, about and above, on a nightly basis.

About, above is a project in two parts, created by Kirsten Bradley during her time as Artist-in-Residence at Firstdraft Gallery, Sydney. Part 1 is the installation and documentation of Cardboard Planetariums throughout the Sydney CBD in mid-February 2008. Part 2 is an installation at First Draft Gallery in April, 2008.

About, above looks at pattern recognition and simulation, how we view 'nature', and what constitutes 'the natural' at this point in western thought. In a world out of balance, About, above also touches on points of Geocentricism, and asks how, as an urbanised culture, have we chosen to see as we do, for all this time.



This project has been made possible by Firstdraft Gallery through their Emerging Artist-in-residence program, and by EXPERIMENTA through their Media Art Mentorship program.

Firstdraft is supported by NSW Ministry for the Arts and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. EXPERIMENTA 's Media Art Mentorship project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Young and Emerging Artists Initiative through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. EXPERIMENTA gratefully acknowledges the assistance of CraftSouth to the EXPERIMENTA Media Art Mentorship Program.