To infinity and beyond: Eyal Gever to launch the first sculpture in space
Back in 1969, a group of artists including Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg took their works on the Apollo 12 mission with the Moon Museum. More recently, the urge to take art into celestial realms was continued by Damien Hirst, who sent one of his dot paintings into space on the ill-fated Beagle 2 mission to Mars in 2003 (and which was finally located on the planet's surface in 2015). For 2016, it is the turn of contemporary artist Eyal Gever. His #Laugh project, developed in collaboration with Made In Space and NASA, is set to produce the first 3D printed sculpture in space.
‘I’ve simply used the latest technology to develop a new language for my art,’ states Gever. Originally a technology entrepreneur, he now tests the boundaries of 3D printed art via his abstract and conceptual sculptures.
This initiative was a commission from Made In Space, an enterprise that aims to colonise the cosmos, promoting it as a place to live, breathe and create culture. The foundation has been using 3D printers for years as a way to create tools on space stations, but this time they are looking to produce something even more innovative – perhaps even something unconceivable for Earth.
Gever’s idea stemmed from the notion of merging the sound of humanity with space; therein, he invited the public to record laughter via an app, which he then reconstituted as sound sculptures. The winning sculpture is set to be realised as ‘frozen laughter in space’ using a zero-gravity 3D-printer aboard the International Space Station.
The most popular #Laugh will be announced in January 2017, and printed on the International Space Station in February (assuming, he intimates, there's no asteroid storms or space explosions in the meantime, of course). Watch this 'space'.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Eyal Gever’s website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Sujata Burman is a writer and editor based in London, specialising in design and culture. She was Digital Design Editor at Wallpaper* before moving to her current role of Head of Content at London Design Festival and London Design Biennale where she is expanding the content offering of the showcases. Over the past decade, Sujata has written for global design and culture publications, and has been a speaker, moderator and judge for institutions and brands including RIBA, D&AD, Design Museum and Design Miami/. In 2019, she co-authored her first book, An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture, published by Hoxton Mini Press, which was driven by her aim to make the fields of design and architecture accessible to wider audiences.
-
This new lakeside house in Chile is a tour de force of contemporary timber construction
Cazú Zegers’ lakeside house Casa Pyr is inspired by the geometry of fire and flames, and nestles into its rocky site
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Kimy Gringoire’s ‘BigLoveCables’: heart-shaped seating and lighting, inspired by her jewellery designs
Kimy Gringoire’s ‘BigLoveCables’ exhibition in MASA’s Project Room, Mexico City, introduces lighting and seating inspired by a core symbol in her jewellery: the heart
By Siska Lyssens Published
-
Kia fields a pair of all-electric camping concepts, the PV5 WKNDR and EV9 ADVNTR
The 2024 SEMA show saw two new concept designs from Kia, exploring the art and function of the all-electric camping machine
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary art
As Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
By Finn Blythe Published
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s Park
Twenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
By Smilian Cibic Published
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhood
Tschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
By Millen Brown-Ewens Published
-
Wanås Konst sculpture park merges art and nature in Sweden
Wanås Konst’s latest exhibition, 'The Ocean in the Forest', unites land and sea with watery-inspired art in the park’s woodland setting
By Alice Godwin Published
-
Pino Pascali’s brief and brilliant life celebrated at Fondazione Prada
Milan’s Fondazione Prada honours Italian artist Pino Pascali, dedicating four of its expansive main show spaces to an exhibition of his work
By Kasia Maciejowska Published
-
John Cage’s ‘now moments’ inspire Lismore Castle Arts’ group show
Lismore Castle Arts’ ‘Each now, is the time, the space’ takes its title from John Cage, and sees four artists embrace the moment through sculpture and found objects
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine South
Gerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Peter Blake’s sculptures spark joy at Waddington Custot in London
‘Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters’, at London's Waddington Custot, spans six decades of the artist's career
By Hannah Silver Published