Art, Astronomy + Astrophysics

About

Following on from last year's highly popular discussion on Art + Astronomy, we have widened the topic to include astrophysics and invited two prestigious speakers to share some ideas on the subject.

Newcomers are welcome. There is a small £5 booking fee to register via Eventbrite which is refundable on attendance. Contact sam@fermynwoods.co.uk with queries or for help with directions and transport

Dr Paul Abel & David Henckel

Dr Paul G. Abel is a theoretical physicist based in the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science at the University of Leicester. His research areas are concerned with black hole thermodynamics, quantum field theory in curved spacetimes and Hawking radiation. From 2009 to 2013 he co-presented the BBC’s programme ‘The Sky at Night’ alongside Sir Patrick Moore. Since then he has appeared on other BBC science shows like Radio 4’s ‘The Infinite Monkey Cage’. He has also spoken at the ‘Blue Dot Festival’, the ‘Cheltenham Science Festival’ and ‘Brian Cox and Robin Ince’s Christmas Compendium of Reason’ at the Hammersmith Apollo. Paul has written three books on astronomy ‘Visual Lunar and Planetary Astronomy’ and ‘Stargazers Notebook’. He co-authored his third book ‘How to read the Solar System’ with Dr Chris North. Paul has also written many articles for a number of popular science magazines. He is a keen amateur astronomer who likes to observe the planets and variable stars.

David Henckel is a contemporary artist who works with communities, commercial organisations and civic institutions to produce immersive installations and experiences. His work fuses Science, politics of space, the nature of sound, community engagement and the audience as players. The installation Venus in Sole Visa, brought together artists, physicists, musicians, a visiting composer, NASA and a village community during the 2012 Transit of Venus. In 2012 he was awarded Axis’ MA Stars and appointed as Artist in Residence at The University of Central Lancashire, where he developed ‘The Sun at Night’ – a dynamic public art installation, which allows audiences to experience a year in the life of the Sun utilising images from NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory. It was shown in Preston’s covered market in 2013 and seen on the BBC’s Stargazing Live 2014. He recently exhibited with 0point3recurring (an artistic collective) at the Bluecoat, Liverpool, as part of Portfolio North West and was one of five Lancashire-based artists commissioned by In Certain Places to develop new temporary public artwork, which was presented during the Preston Guild celebrations in September 2012.

You can follow the discussion live at:
http://fermynwoods.org/in-public-spaces/live-stream/

Image: The Sun At Night, 2013-current, David Henckel