Hear artist Katie Paterson talk about art and science, space and time. See her awe-inspiring artworks inspired by astronomy and cosmology, the imagination, the natural world and the entire universe.
Paterson’s new exhibition ‘A place that exists only in moonlight: Katie Paterson & JMW Turner’ is at Turner Contemporary from Saturday 26 January – Monday 6 May 2019.
Paterson transforms simple yet seemingly impossible ideas into incredible artworks, from a candle that smells like the universe, to a light bulb that simulates moonlight. Her exhibition at Turner Contemporary features a colour wheel that charts the colour of the universe and a mirror ball shining with the image of every solar eclipse recorded by humankind.
Throughout her career, Paterson has worked with lighting engineers, geographers, geologists, perfumers, biochemists, technicians, biologists, horologists, foresters, palaeontologists and other professionals to ensure her artworks are scientifically accurate whilst being philosophically powerful. This film includes three astrophysicists who have worked with Paterson on The Cosmic Spectrum and Totality.
In this film, Paterson also discusses her fascination with JMW Turner’s paintings that relate to the natural world, including moonscapes, glaciers, and mountains, and well as both artists’ shared connection with Margate. Paterson notes the astonishing colours of the coastal environment in Thanet, the sunsets and the wild seas.