Archives for posts with tag: Peter Doig

Cosmos

February 8, 2026 //

A packed and buzzing opening at The Royal West of England Academy for Cosmos: the art of observing space, curated by Ione Parkin. There was so much to take in, I will need to go back another time to be sure of seeing everything. I feel so lucky to be a part of this exhibition that includes so many wonderful artists as well as precious artifacts from the Royal Astronomical Society.

The following Private View images are courtesy of Alastair Brookes, KoLab Studios

There is a fabulous exhibition catalogue to accompany the exhibition with foreword by astrophysicist, author and broadcaster, Chris Lintott and contributions from Ione Parkin RWA, visiting Honorary Fellow of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester; Sian Prosser, library and archives manager at the Royal Astronomical Society; and Amaury Triaud, Professor of Exoplanetology at the University of Birmingham. Image Alastair Brookes, KoLab Studios.

The following installation images of my four works in Cosmos are courtesy of Alastair Brookes, KoLab Studios

Sun Factor, 2015, comes from a period in my practice when I was looking at the human disconnect with the natural world and impending climate change. I was focusing on concepts of paradise as a state of being at one with a natural order. During this period we took a family holiday to Sardinia and one day we were offered a boat trip to an island that was described by the sales tout as ‘paradise’ – so we had to go. It turned out to be the opposite of what one might expect of paradise and this work is a direct translation of our experience. Bizarrely there was a concrete obelisk at the beach, – a signifier of an ancient totem to the power of the sun. The figures are printed in high saturation colours, a reminder of the early days of package holidays and glossy postcards. It also speaks of skin damage and the ritual behaviour of tourists flocking to the sun – perhaps without acknowledging its true power and the vulnerability of human biology.

92 Years Measured in Light, 2021, is a very personal work made just after the pandemic, reflecting on the human experience of time in relation to the vastness of the Cosmos. There is a star, similar to our sun, with planets orbiting in a motion comparable to how the planets orbit here in our solar system. This star, in the constellation of Puppis, is about 92 light years away. The time it has taken the first radio and television signals travelling at the speed of light to reach this prospective home-from-home is roughly the same time as the lifespan of my mother who was born around the time of these early broadcasts. The folded sections in this work emulate the raster pattern of early TV signals which were sent in segments and must be reassembled on arrival to make sense of the message. The artwork includes fragmented images from this historical period viewed from one direction, and a chart depicting the star from the other. It is an interesting thought to consider what alien life forms might make of these messages travelling across the universe, should they be able to interact with them.

The Azimuth Obelisk (of sedimentary knowledge) 2023 is a reimagining of a concrete obelisk, erected in 1955 at Hartland Magnetic Observatory, as a permanent azimuth mark from which to monitor the drift of the magnetic north pole. Measurements are taken via a theodolite through a north facing window in what is known as the Absolute Hut. My sculpture echoes the hidden history of Earth’s wandering magnetic field, which has been secreted by magnetic minerals in the strata of sedimentary rock over millennia. To make the piece, hundreds of works on paper were painstakingly hand-torn, layered and stacked, expressing the passage of time at both geological and human scales.

Orbital, 2024, reflects on the interaction between space weather and Earth’s magnetic field and its impact on human infrastructure. The Earth’s magnetic field is quite a weak force requiring sensitive equipment to detect it, yet it provides valuable protection to life on Earth. It’s interaction with the solar wind has been very visible recently as the sun reaches peak activity in its 11 year cycle, lighting up skies with the aurora borealis much further south than is usual. Auroras may be beautiful to witness but belie the potential damage to satellites and electric grids from a violent solar storm. Our daily lives have become increasingly reliant on satellite technology for communication and data gathering and disruption to these systems would have wide reaching global effects. There is also research that suggests the number of satellites orbiting Earth and the growing space junk graveyard forming a metal cage could weaken Earth’s protective magnetic field, making us even more vulnerable to space weather and cosmic radiation. Space pollution and over use of low orbit space is not only gambling with disaster but it’s also disrupting the view of the night sky and will make it increasingly difficult for us to exit the Earth for space exploration.

Out, About and Online

Michael Taylor Dog eats Lion at Standpoint Gallery. I was lucky to be in the audience for his ‘in conversation’ with Johanna Love and his following introduction to the workings of Paupers Press, with lots of juicy insider knowledge about the artists, such as Grayson Parry, Damian Hurst and Paula Rego, who go to Michael for editioning their works. There was lots of show and tell and also his own solo show to see. Three hours well spent. Down to earth and entertaining, it was refreshing to hear such honesty about the creative process. The not knowing. His press release is basically a list of disturbing incidents that have stayed in his mind. Maybe sometime, the dog will have his day.

In his own words: Michael Taylor is the founder of the Paupers Press and co-founder of Standpoint Studios and Mark Tanner Sculpture Award. He has had a few shows but won no prizes. His work is held in a collection. He has taught at several art schools, a few of which are still open, some have closed. He has travelled extensively within the EU and considers himself a man for warm seasons.

A little disappointed with Ryoji Ikeda’s new site-specific audio-visual installation data-cosm [n°1] at 180 Strand. Visitors are invited to lie down on the floor and look up at the large LED screen set on the ceiling above them, their bodies surrounded by Ikeda’s soundscapes – a total sensory experience. The set up is impressive and the experience is immersive, at times blinding and at times has the thrill of a fairground ride but overall I felt the imagery could have been more engaging.

Paradigm Shift at 180 Strand spans moving image works from the 1970s to today, drawing on avant-garde cinema, television, music video, performance, fashion, gaming, and internet culture. Featuring works by artists: Sophia Al-Maria, Meriem Bennani, Dara Birnbaum, Foday Dumbuya, Cao Fei, Tremaine Emory, Nan Goldin, Arthur Jafa, Derek Jarman, JulianKnxx, Mark Leckey, Josèfa Ntjam, Pipilotti Rist, Martine Syms, TELFAR, Ryan Trecartin, Gillian Wearing and Andy Warhol. Many, many videos. Exit feeling like it’s been a long night in the underworld.

I joined a webinar in connection with Earth, a Cosmic Spectacle exhibition at Everybody Arts Together. Presented by exhibiting artist Louise Beer, with speakers Dr Anik Halder, postdoctoral research associate at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge and Jesus College Cambridge. and Miranda Lowe CBE, principal curator, natural historian and marine invertebrate specialist at the Natural History Museum, London. The importance of establishing connections to the cosmos through stargazing and learning more about astronomy and other life that shares our planet was emphasised as vital to building hope for the future.

Robert Good Tower No 1a (Looks Like A Good Trajectory So Far) at Saturation Point. The tower is inspired by the iconic launch gantry at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A from which Apollo 11 blasted off to the moon. The title quote is taken from the CBS News commentary at about 1:05 minutes into the flight, and reflects the optimism and excitement of the launch, whilst also perhaps inviting the viewer to consider whether we are still on such a good trajectory today.

I enjoyed the poignancy of the structure as something that no longer has purpose, but also in the context of it being built inside a room, reaching to the ceiling in quite an optimistic defiance.

Also opening at the RWA was Elemental Curated by Malcolm Ashman RWA and Stephen Jacobson RWA. This exhibition brings together works by four RWA Academicians that trace deep and individual responses to the natural world. Each work holds fragments of place that move beyond representation to connect with elements that are both intimate and universal. Great to catch up with Sara Dudman who I met during the Lizard Point Residency in 2019. Her dynamic paintings are vibrant evocations of “what it is to be a volcano. Feeling the sulphurous breath of the earth, watching her move; these paintings adopt the animist view of the volcano as a living being. Trekking the winding paths to the craters, we can never surmount a volcano but feel the awe of her role in reshaping the land”. Sara Dudman RWA

Emma Talbot Everything is Energy at The Arnolfini, Bristol in which the artist leads us through a rich eco-system of works – including silk painting installations, intimate drawings, sculptural forms (Talbot calls them ‘intangible things’) and animation – each exploring the complexity of our relationship with nature, technology and the world around us.

‘What is life. A container for magic. A conductor for nameless frissons & frictions. Electricities & energies that sustain endless expansion.’ (Emma Talbot)

I thought the aminations were beautifully made. I found the text a bit intrusive and prescriptive but it does get her points across I suppose and it is very much a part of how she works.

Peter Doig: House of Music at the Serpentine. The exhibition features two sets of rare, restored analogue speakers, originally designed for cinemas and large auditoriums. Music selected by the artist – from his substantial archive of vinyl records and cassette tapes accumulated over decades – plays through a set of ‘high fidelity’ 1950s wooden Klangfilm Euronor speakers. At the centre of the exhibition is an original Western Electric / Bell Labs sound system, produced in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Developed to respond to the demands of modern movie sound, this extremely rare ‘loud speaking telephone’ consists of valve amplifiers and mains-energised field-coil loudspeakers, which were designed specifically to herald in the new era of ‘talking movies’. These speakers were salvaged from derelict cinemas across the UK by Laurence Passera, with whom Doig has collaborated closely on this project. Laurence Passera is a London-based expert and devoted enthusiast of cinematic sound systems. The speakers offer a unique listening experience due to the technical mastery achieved in their construction that places them as the great grandfathers of modern ‘hi-end’ audio.

Settling down to listen to the music meant lingering longer than would be usual when just looking at paintings.

The terrific Kelly James Marshall: The Histories at the Royal Academy. These powerful paintings are full of references which span art history, civil rights, comics, science fiction, his own memories and more. He uses these to comment on the past, celebrate everyday life and imagine more optimistic futures. Full of vibrant energy, fabulous use of glitter and text, truly stunning.

Beatriz Milhazes ‘Além do Horizonte’ (‘Beyond the Horizon’) at White Cube Mason’s Yard. A dose of grey day medicine.

Tags 92 Years Measured in Light, Amaury Triaud, Beatriz Milhazes, Chris Lintott, cosmos, Dr Anik Halder, Emma Talbot, Ione Parkin, Johanna Love, Kelly James Marshall, Louise Beer, Michael Taylor, Miranda Lowe, orbital, Peter Doig, Robert Good, Royal Astronomical Society, RWA, Ryoji Ikeda, Sara Dudman, Saturation Point, science, Sian Prosser, space, Standpoint Gallery, Sun Factor, technology, The Azimuth Obelisk (of sedimentary knowledge), The Royal West of England Academy

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May 7, 2023 //

“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance amid surprises, of collaborating with chance, of recognizing that there are some essential mysteries in the world and thereby a limit to calculation, to plan, to control.” Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost

At Hartland Magnetic Observatory and other magnetic observatories around the world solar activity is examined daily and forecasts are given if this is likely to have any geomagnetic effect on Earth. The main geomagnetic field is also constantly changing due to convection flows and waves in the Earth’s core. As this change cannot be predicted, uncertainty slowly increases over time.

Most of my work at the moment is towards the exhibition A Stone Sky, with Julie F. Hill at Thames-side Studios Gallery later in the year. Very excited to be working alongside Julie and to have space to be ambitious in scale.

The Absolute Hut installation, reimagining the magnetic observatory room, will be a combination of planning to build the structure and unpredictability through processes used for the surfaces. Measuring for the north facing wall to be built in sections for easier transportation. Testing scale and coverage of field contour shapes cut in copper with a plasma gun.

I am hoping the north wall structure can be made up soon and the boards attached. I will then keep it outside facing north until the exhibition in an attempt to grow some moss on its surface. I have only had some very small success so far growing moss, despite trying a new culture recipe and being very diligent misting every morning and evening.

The topological contours of suminagashi marbling, which also echo fluid magnetic field lines, have inspired me to experiment with this idea for The Absolute Hut roofing. I have bought a sumi ink stick in whiteish green, an ink grinding stone and some verdigris pigment from Cornelissen in preparation to try this idea out. In this process the magnetic field lines appear embedded into the fabric of the hut that monitors (senses) the emanations from the Earth’s core.

Through the north facing window of The Absolute Hut, The Azimuth Obelisk (Obelisk of sedimentary knowledge) will be viewed. The sculpture is formed by tearing, drilling and layering sheets of paper. As sedimentary rocks build over time, so the obelisk has a lot of time invested in its making and conceals the history of past events in the hidden layers of the recycled prints and drawings.

I am still working on etching the Directional Magnetic Steel pieces. It can be a frustrating process as some batches work well and some do not etch well at all but come out dull and patchy and I’m not sure why. My idea was to use these pieces to draw a line across the gallery floor signifying the westward drift of the magnetic field from geographical north but now I am thinking more about mapping out a spiral shape in shaped pieces to echo the rotation of the Earth’s molten core.

All information about the Earth’s core has come from studying seismic data, analysis of meteorites, lab experiments with temperature and pressure, and computer modelling. Seismometers convert vibrations due to seismic waves into electrical signals. The velocity and frequency of seismic waves changes with pressure, temperature, and rock composition. The discovery that Earth has a liquid layer beneath the crust and a solid inner core has come from detailed analysis of the different types of waves that pass through the body of the Earth. Looking at the composition of meteorites, fragments of asteroids, formed about the same time, and from about the same material, as Earth provides clues to what minerals the core might contain. Diamond anvil cells are instruments used to recreate the pressure existing deep inside the planet by squeezing materials between two diamonds surfaces. A combination of this data is used to in complex computer modelling programs resulting in detailed animations of the geodynamo, a process powered by the convection of heat in the outer core along with the rotation of the planet.

Also a few more layers of papier mâché have been applied to the sculpture that will house a screen with video for the work Belly of a Rock.

Other work in the research stage looks at the first use of a magnetic compass, the cardinal points of navigation and the compass predecessor the wind rose.

In classical antiquity, a time stretching from Homer to the early middle ages, geographic orientation usually referred to landmarks or astral phenomena to determine direction. Eos meaning dawn, and Hesperus, evening were named for sunrise and sunset with north (arctos) being marked by the constellation Ursa Major and later the Pole Star. The winds also became associated with direction, and named in accordance with their qualities such as hot and humid or cold and dry. In Greek mythology Astraeus, the god of dusk, and Eos, the goddess of dawn, gave birth to many sons of the twilight including the Anemoi, the four gods of the winds, each ascribed a cardinal direction. Boreas being the god of the cold north wind, Notus the god of the hot south wind, Eurus from the east and gentle Zephyrus from the west.

The number of points on a wind rose began with the four cardinal points which were added to and refined over time. The winds were often given names that referred to a particular locality from where they seem to blow, so different places came up with various local names. Aristotle designed an asymmetrical 10 point wind rose which was later refigured by Timosthenes who is credited with inventing the system of twelve winds and using this more for navigation than for “the study of things high in the air.“

Classical wind roses were eventually replaced by the modern compass rose during the middle ages.

The “Vatican table” is a marble Roman anemoscope dating from the 2nd or 3rd Century CE, held by the Vatican Museums. Usually an anemoscope would be topped with a weather vane. Divided into twelve equal sides, each one is inscribed with the names of the classical winds, both in Greek and in Latin.

At a quantum scale, all matter is underpinned by uncertainty. My fascination with particle physics began from simply wondering what everything was made of when you looked really closely. I looked up ‘fundamental building blocks of the universe’ and was blown away by this mysterious other world, so far away in terms of scale I can comprehend, yet a part of me and everything I interact with.

Quanta is a discrete unit that cannot be divided. Quantum physics is the study of energy and matter at the most fundamental level. The chemical reactions in a birds eye that allow it to ‘see’ Earth’s magnetic field involves the quantum entanglement of radical pairs of electrons. These electrons are excited by light, particularly the blue of twilight.

Photography was the first available demonstration that light could indeed exert an action sufficient to cause changes in material bodies. William Henry Fox Talbot

The subject of the photograph (the sun) has transcended the idea that a photograph is simple a representation of reality, and has physically come through the lens and put it’s hand onto the final piece. Sunburn Chris McCaw

This month NASA announced a new planetary defence strategy to protect Earth from an asteroid impact. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) on 11th October 2022, changed the orbit of the Dimorphos Asteroid in the first full-scale demonstration of asteroid deflection technology.

This marks humanity’s first time purposely changing the motion of a celestial object.

“An asteroid impact with Earth has potential for catastrophic devastation, and it is also the only natural disaster humanity now has sufficient technology to completely prevent,” Lindley Johnson, NASA’s planetary defense officer. First any potential collision objects must be identified. This will be the job of the Near Earth Object Surveyor, along with ground-based optical telescope capabilities, to find the still undiscovered population of asteroids and comets that could impact our planet.

A magnetometer is being sent on an eight year journey to Jupiter. It was launched this month from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) has magnetic and electric field sensors on the end of the magnetometer boom. The boom is folded in three parts and packed against the side of the spacecraft for launch. Once unfolded in space, the sensors will extend clear of the main body of the spacecraft, allowing very accurate measurements without magnetic interference from the spacecraft itself.

The boom’s instruments will measure Jupiter’s magnetic field, its interaction with the internal magnetic field of Ganymede, and will help study the subsurface oceans of the icy moons.

Ganymede is the only moon in the solar system known to have its own magnetic field. The magnetic field causes auroras, which are ribbons of glowing, hot, electrified gas, in regions circling the north and south poles of the moon. Because Ganymede is close to Jupiter, its magnetic field is embedded in, or lies within, Jupiter’s magnetic field.

The discovery of the moons orbiting Jupiter by Galileo Galilei in 1610 was the first time a moon was discovered orbiting a planet other than Earth. The discovery eventually led to the understanding that planets in our solar system orbit the Sun, instead of our solar system revolving around Earth.

Gallery Visits

Peter Doig at The Courtauld. My highlights were the luminous moons, moon bathing and an etching of a cave.

Jitish Kallat Whorled (Here After Here After Here) at Somerset House had a romantic premise with a prosaic aesthetic. I love the concept and the theory and it’s certainly a jarring juxtaposition to be directed to celestial destinations by motorway signage. Routes through the work map circular movements through space and time. Is this the Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy?