Abandon Normal Devices (AND) are delighted to launch the second edition of COSMOS, a flagship international art-science commission and residency programme exploring deep space, in collaboration with The University of Manchester’s’ Jodrell Bank Observatory and bluedot. Launched in July 2017 and scheduled to take place each summer, COSMOS invites an international artist to create a new audio-visual work developed for, and to be projected onto, the iconic Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory during the award-winning bluedot festival.
Austrian artist Addie Wagenknecht has been selected as the COSMOS artist for 2018. Wagenknecht will be collaborating with Jodrell Bank astrophysicists through a series of research residencies in May and June to create a new artwork to inspire audiences. Spending time at Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, the artist will work with researchers and scientists to gain insight into the data collected by the telescope, the observatory’s research and consider how we can visualise the knowledge gathered about deep space. Wagenknecht is specifically interested in the notion that information has always been available, and as an observer you can choose whether or not to look at it. By using light this site specific commission will transform the Lovell telescope into a seemingly random data hub, that will give rise to meaningful patterns and knowledge.
Bluedot is a four-day festival exploring the realms of music, science, art and culture taking place at Jodrell Bank Observatory from 19 - 22 July.
