Stardust
STARDUST is a cross-platform project. It is both an immersive projection environment housed in a geodesic dome, a sanctuary in which we can be alone with our thoughts, a research site and a series of interactive public programs (including a trip planning service and skillshares).
STARDUST at CHASHAMA GALA, 4 times square (NEW YORK, NY)
June 7, 2018 // ChaShaMa Gala, 4 Times Square, New York, NY
“We are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth...We are not figuratively, but literally stardust.”
- Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist
STARDUST is an immersive projection environment housed in a geodesic dome, a sanctuary in which we can be alone with our thoughts. In cities around the world we cannot just go outside and see the stars or stay inside and find solitude. When we create spaces for reflection, self-care and community care that exist outside of capitalist forms, we become empowered. We can visualize our individual agency in something greater than ourselves; we are implicated, more aware, accountable and can create change on an individual and global level. We need #dometime. STARDUST is not a one-time experience but a site to initiate a practice.
Our interconnectedness means interdependency; we share critical issues of climate change, migration, shelter and food supply on Earth. STARDUST directly addresses issues of public versus private space and shelter in every sense: permanent and emergency housing, environmental refugees, unpacking power structures through sanctuary and self-care. We need sanctuary.
Participants are invited to enter the dome alone, and sit or lay in a boat, installed at the centre of the dome floor. Bluetooth headphones with a soundscape are inside the boat. The boat is a self-powered vehicle that signifies our individual agency and opens up critical questions. “Planets, Stars and Atoms…” images created by Alex Chowaniec are projected onto the surfaces of the dome and a Mylar mirrored floor juxtaposes the reflected image of the participant against a cosmos. The “Planets, Stars and Atoms…” work meditates on the simultaneous micro/macro of bodies, nature and cosmos. They are generated from mixed media watercolors, daily meditations that embody the practice of mindfulness critical to the concept of sanctuary. When we see our own image in the cosmos, we understand that this is the foundation for our greater connection.
STARDUST at wall space train yards (ottawa, ON)
September 13 - October 14, 2017 // Wall Space Train Yards, Ottawa
Opening Reception: September 13, 6-8pm
Click here to read the Press Release.
“We are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth...We are not figuratively, but literally stardust.”
- Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist
STARDUST is Chowaniec Projects' first interactive installation.
Our Canadian cultural identities are intertwined with our relationship to the landscape. We are constantly faced with conflicting issues of living in a resource-rich country, and acting as stewards for a vast land. How can we protect the environment and make good choices? We become empowered as stewards when we can visualize our individual agency and role as stakeholders in something greater than ourselves. We can be an economy of ideas not of natural resources. Our relationship to landscape, both internal, as shared cultural memories, and external, by physically inhabiting, is at the core of this. Creating sanctuary, through art and nature, is the vehicle. How we go out and care for our shared landscape and ourselves as individuals will be unique. The STARDUST installation is not a one-time experience but a site to initiate a practice.
The STARDUST installation is an interactive and educational experience in an alternative gallery space, a sanctuary in which you can be alone with your thoughts. An immersive projection environment housed in a 16’ geodesic dome invites the participant to enter, alone, and sit or lay in a canoe, installed at the centre of the dome floor. Projections on the surfaces of the dome juxtapose the reflected image of the participant against a star-filled sky, creating an awareness of our interconnectedness, accountability, and potential. When we see our own image in the stars, we understand that this is the foundation for our greater connection.
Environment Minister McKenna recently stated that she would like to create policies and “teach every kid to canoe.” (April 27, 2017 // Mayor's Breakfast, Ottawa). The canoe becomes a signifier for our shared cultural identities and the democratization of access critical to connecting people to nature. The power is in visualization. When we visualize the concept that we are part of something greater than ourselves, we are implicated, more aware, accountable and can create change on an individual and global level.
Wall Space Train Yards
6-505 Industrial Avenue
Ottawa, ON K1G 0Z1
613-834-0872