People learn a lot outside of the classroom. It might be the social environment or the fact that no one's watching your back, but maybe it just has to do with the sense of location. For this project I wanted to breach the wall separating the classroom from true public space. This was less to emphasize "real world science" than to expose people to astronomy in an unexpected setting - the joke being that New York is always an unexpected place for astronomy. The effect might have been small, but I believe any reorganizing of everyday experience to be a positive encounter. My scrolls are personal letters, each knotted with ribbon and placed in public spaces throughout Brookyln. The text is pretty basic (limited by scale) and handwritten with simple diagrams to make the reading experience intimate and accessible.

     The bubbles are painted to resemble celestial bodies. Some have rocky craters, others have swirling atmospheres (one is Jupiter), a small sun is marked by sun spots and a tiny mars has its own ice cap. I deliberately wrote the notes out by hand, using aged paper and ink to achieve an intimate response with the reader. Essentially constituting a gift exchange, the project is anonymous and simple. I sincerely hope that the finders of the orbs will pick them up and read their contents. Here are the bubbles out in the city:

 

 

 

Interested in buying or displaying a piece?

Please contact me at beandrew@gmail.com

 

All work and images © Benjamin Andrew 2009