STRUCTURE & REFLECTANCE |
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TO THE MOON- AN ART AND SCIENCE COLLABORATION
The Structure and Reflectance cube is a part of the Moon Gallery, the first permanent extra-terrestrial art gallery which aims to travel to the Moon no later than 2025. The gallery integrated into a 10 by 10 grid tray comprising 100 micro, highly concentrated ideas from around the world will convey universal values that will serve as seeds of a future interplanetary culture with art becoming the language of inclusivity and diversity as humanity expands into the solar system.
The creation of the Structure and Reflectance cube was a collaboration between Lakshmi Mohanbabu and scientists at NTU, with the technology team led by Prof. Matteo Seita from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, NTU, of Karl A Sofinowski, Jude E Fronda, Nair Adarsh R and Mallory Wittwer.
Supported by NTU (Nanyang Technological University), NAMIC (The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster) and NRF (The National Research Foundation).
The creation of the Structure and Reflectance cube was a collaboration between Lakshmi Mohanbabu and scientists at NTU, with the technology team led by Prof. Matteo Seita from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, NTU, of Karl A Sofinowski, Jude E Fronda, Nair Adarsh R and Mallory Wittwer.
Supported by NTU (Nanyang Technological University), NAMIC (The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster) and NRF (The National Research Foundation).
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ON the International Space Station (iSS) 21 February 2022
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The 'Structure and Reflectance cube' is part of the experimental payload, which includes 64 Moon gallery artefacts that flew to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the NG-17 rocket within the framework of a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply mission on 19 February 2022. The Cygnus spacecraft docked with the ISS, the final frontier of human habitat, on 21 February 2022: https://youtu.be/L8Cmh4n-0jA. This Test Flight, in collaboration with Nanoracks, is a precursor mission, contributing to our understanding of the future possibilities for art in space and strengthening cooperation between the art and space sectors. On its flight to the International Space Station and back to Earth, the Moon Gallery will become a part of the Nanolabs technical payload serving as a target for observations and performance tests. Moon Gallery artists will get a chance to learn about the performance of their artworks in space, and the result of these observations will serve as a source of a precious learning experience for future space artists.
Track the gallery on the International Space Station. |
THOUGHTS - VISION
In a world of collaboration, communication and interaction, it is possible to explore the real, the imagined and the unknown. Space could be our future home! Our every perception, analysis, thought, and expression is a product of the influences from our surroundings and the Universe and determines who we are. Materials, too, like people, have a complex structure resulting from their history and the sequence of processes that have shaped their constituent parts and underpins their differences. This structure, masked by an exterior façade, often reveals little underlying quality in materials or people. This duality is seen in the Moon, which has one side always facing us and a dark side hidden from our viewpoint. This duality of structure and reflectance, the unifying message of an integrated world and the marriage between art and technology make the "Structure & Reflection Cube" a quintessential signature of humanity to be displayed on the Moon for eternity.
INTERPRETATION
The hidden structure of materials, people and the Moon are visualized as reflections of light through art and science. The cube is a material representation of the complex structure embodied in a block of metal. the everlasting nature of metal, the variety of crystal shapes. consisting of two crystals with distinct reflectivity and complementary shape. The crystals—ingrained in the cube via additive manufacturing technology—are revealed to the naked eye through the action of a corrosive agent and are highlighted by differently oriented light sources. The resulting optical contrast on the cube surface generates an intricate geometry reflecting the duality of man: the complexity of hidden thought and expressed emotion. This duality can be linked to the Moon where: one side remains in plain sight, while the other has remained hidden to humankind for centuries; until space travel finally allowed us to gaze upon it. The bright portion of the visible side of the Moon is dependent on the Moon's position relative to the Earth and the Sun. Thus, what we see is a function of our viewpoint.
Expressed in the Structure & Reflectance cube is the concept of the two crystals' changing reflectance, which varies with the observer's viewing angle. This level of detailed control over the crystal structure of solids is achieved only with additive manufacturing technologies. This work uses 'laser powder bed fusion technology'—a metal additive manufacturing process—to create four different symbols on four faces of the Structure & Reflectance cube. Each 'symbol' portrays our quests to discover the secrets of the Universe and—fused into a single cube—embody the unity of humankind, which transcends our differences in culture, religion, and social status:
The first cube face is divided into two triangles and depicts the two faces of the Moon, one visible to us from the earth and the other hidden from our view.
The second cube face has two spiralling windmill forms, one clockwise and the other counter-clockwise, representing our existence, energy, and time.
The third cube face is a labyrinth form of nested squares, which represents the layers that we—as space explorers—are unravelling to discover the enigma of the Universe.
The fourth cube face reflects the spiralling form of our DNA that makes each of us unique, a shape reflected in the form of our galaxy.
Expressed in the Structure & Reflectance cube is the concept of the two crystals' changing reflectance, which varies with the observer's viewing angle. This level of detailed control over the crystal structure of solids is achieved only with additive manufacturing technologies. This work uses 'laser powder bed fusion technology'—a metal additive manufacturing process—to create four different symbols on four faces of the Structure & Reflectance cube. Each 'symbol' portrays our quests to discover the secrets of the Universe and—fused into a single cube—embody the unity of humankind, which transcends our differences in culture, religion, and social status:
The first cube face is divided into two triangles and depicts the two faces of the Moon, one visible to us from the earth and the other hidden from our view.
The second cube face has two spiralling windmill forms, one clockwise and the other counter-clockwise, representing our existence, energy, and time.
The third cube face is a labyrinth form of nested squares, which represents the layers that we—as space explorers—are unravelling to discover the enigma of the Universe.
The fourth cube face reflects the spiralling form of our DNA that makes each of us unique, a shape reflected in the form of our galaxy.
PRIMARY
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DROMENON
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WINDMILL
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NAUTILUS
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3D Printed cube Windmill face 15cmX15cm
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3D Printed cube Nautilus face 15cmX15cm
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3D Printed cube Nautilus face 15cmX15cm
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3D Printed cube polished 15cmX15cm
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STRUCTURE AND REFLECTANCE TEAM
From left to right: Matteo Seita, Jude E Fronda, Nair Adarsh R, Karl A Sofinowski, Lakshmi Mohanbabu (Mallory Wittwer not in the photograph)
From left to right: Matteo Seita, Jude E Fronda, Nair Adarsh R, Karl A Sofinowski, Lakshmi Mohanbabu (Mallory Wittwer not in the photograph)
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