Preparing for Beyond the Cradle

SymbioticA: Biological Arts, 2018 Seminars, 2 March 2018

Sarah Jane Pell

Pell presents her artistic role in Performing Astronautics across the three phases of spaceflight as: the Architect (building new forms of Absolute Space), the Astronaut (embodying all of Representational Space), and the Avatar (live(d) art of Spaces of Representation). By framing her experimental and emerging practice as nodes of transfer and transformation, she explores movement in the relative qualities of space and spatiality over spaceflight time. By aligning her work to the gravity-shift arc of spaceflight, the artist hopes to prepare an embodied toolkit for audiences to experience new phenomena including the moment of earthly release, the orbital perspective or overview effect, and space-earth adaptation and residual bodily memory as described by many astronauts. For this, she suggests we design for a body of water.

Pell, S.J. (2018) Preparing for Beyond the Cradle, SymbioticA: Biological Arts, 2018 Seminars, University of Western Australia AU, 2 March 2018. (Photos, courtesy Symbiotica).

Dr. Sarah Jane Pell’s practice intersects performing arts, interactivity design, and underwater diving – with parallel interests in human spaceflight and habitat technologies. Interested placing the body in real and imagined spaces for encountering “new frontier worlds”, Pell plays with elements of speculative fiction, live-lab style stunt and daring to explore the visceral and bodily fascination in high-risk exploration. An Undersea Simulation Astronaut to Project Moonwalk EU, Astronaut Candidate Project PoSSUM US, and Mars Desert Research Station MDRS Crew 188, she is carving out new opportunities for the artist-astronaut. Her Edith Cowan University PhD proposing ‘Aquabatics as new works of live art’ received Best PhD Art & Science, MIT LABS. She has logged over 500 commercial dives in zero visibility imagining an artist-in-space experience, with spin-off projects connecting to NASA, JAXA, ESA and the EU Commission. She has joined residencies and workshops including events hosted by SymbioticA: the art & science laboratory, the Arts Catalyst, Live Art Surgery, UK, International Space University, Singularity University and European Space Agency Topical Team Arts & Science (CoChair 2011-2014). Her work is exhibited, performed and published widely. Notable venues include Ars Electronica, Robotronica, CHI, MOMA, BEAP, NRLA, ISEA, NGV, PICA, PIAF, AIAF, MIAF, TNAM, & ESTEC. Dr. Pell is a TED Fellow, Gifted Citizen, and an Australia Council Fellow.

This project follows on from the Performing Astronautics project assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

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