Castlemaine State Festival 2013: Periscope Exhibition: Artwork No 2: 'Rain Table'

Rian Table and Water Table: Delicate splashes and droplets of water act like primitive lenses bringing transparency to the diffused images of celestial bodies. These two installation pieces are inspired by the beauty of the night sky and invite the viewer to consider the cosmos in relation to ones self and to contemplate the discoveries which have changed our understanding of the universe. Water Table and Rain Table are the two works being presented as part of Periscope. Through the form of the science bench or museum cabinet, luminous and projected images play against glass and water invoking the sublime sense of wonder that we have when we look to the starry night sky. Water Table In 1912 the astronomer, Vesto Slipher made the discovery that “Nebula” were moving at incredible velocities due to the expansion of space itself. This discovery revealed these “Nebula” to be vastly remote and independent galaxies. Water Table speculates on the understanding that when we look into deep space, we also look into deep time. Rain-Table is a new work produced for the festival and makes reference to the first telescopic observations of the Moon made by the mathematician, philosopher and astronomer, Galileo Galilei in 1610. The implication of Galileo’s observations gave rise to a radical new understanding of the heavens and our place in it and the final acceptance that the Earth was not the center of the Universe.