The Human Spaceship – Upon the Moon
Helen Schell
13-29 October 2022
Helen Schell, ‘The Human Spaceship – Upon the Moon’, 2022, installation view. Photo: Colin Davison
‘The Human Spaceship – Upon the Moon’ by Sunderland-based artist, Helen Schell, is an exhibition of work inspired by 21st century space exploration.
‘The Human Spaceship – Upon the Moon’ by Sunderland-based artist, Helen Schell, is an exhibition of work inspired by 21st century space exploration. With the planned NASA Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon within the next five years, the exhibition addresses the mechanisms of human physiology and psychology in the hostile environment of the lunar South Pole, where NASA intends to build a base camp. The exhibition consists of large paintings, made in collaboration with space scientists, that use geometric optical illusions and colour manipulation. There will also be a series of experimental ‘spaceship’ works on display. ‘The Human Spaceship’ art/science project seeks to create visual references using geometry connected to visual perception in altered gravity conditions and encompasses ‘Moon-shot: Woman on the Moon’, started in 2011.
Schell has explored these themes for fifteen years and this body of work has been informed by visits to NASA, Johnson Space Center, and connected Houston-based space organisations, as guest artist at the Rice Space Institute in 2019. This year, Schell presented a talk entitled The Human Spaceship, at NASA Human Research Program Investigators Workshop 2022: Pathway to the Moon and Mars and she has artworks on the Aldrin Family Foundation’s Art Space site (created by Buzz Aldrin, second man to walk on the Moon, now run by his son, Dr Andrew Aldrin). This builds on her project started in 2011, ‘Moon-shot: Woman on the Moon’, predicting NASA’s plans for the first woman to walk on the lunar surface in 2025.
Helen Schell, The Cutter, 2021, acrylic and graphite pencil on canvas, 220x165cm. Photo: Colin Davison
Helen Schell, Double Vision, 2021, acrylic and graphite pencil on canvas, 275x255cm. Photo: Colin Davison
Helen Schell, What Lies Beyond Black?, 2021, acrylic and graphite pencil on canvas, 305x275cm. Photo: Colin Davison
Helen Schell was born in the USA and lives in Sunderland, UK. She has won awards from the European Space Agency, the International Astronomical Union, as well as winning the Sir Arthur C Clarke Award three times. She has partnered with the Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK Research and Innovation, Institute of Physics, Royal Astronomical Society, International Space University, Science and Industry Museum, Science Museum, SunSpaceArt, many UK universities and hundreds of schools nationwide, for her specialist ‘space workshop’ programme. Being twice awarded the Pollock Krasner Foundation grant and multiple cultural fellowships for research, travel, residencies and exhibitions, has enabled Schell to undertake projects in the USA, Canada, Cuba and around Europe including the UK.
Saturday 15 October 5-7pm
Exhibition talk
To accompany her exhibition, Helen Schell and specialist space architect, Monika Brandić Lipińska talk about space exploration.
A Slice of the Moon
Helen Schell will talk about the Moon’s history, NASA’s Artemis missions and her other Moon inspired projects. She started creating artworks inspired by the Moon in 2011, devising ‘Moon-shot: Woman on the Moon’, which predicted preparations by NASA and other international space agencies for the first woman, first person of colour, and next man to return to the Moon within five years.
Space to Grow
Monika Brandić Lipińska talks about biology-based systems for creating habitable environments in space, including her research into bio-fabrication strategies for stabilising loose rock and gravel surfaces using mycelium, or fungal threads, to construct living spaces for the settlement of planets such as Mars.
Take a video tour of the exhibition
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