Start Technarte

Soul of Sol – La Palma is a moving artistic project developed by Australian artist Jessie Hughes during her START Technarte artistic residency at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. For one month, she lived close to the sky and stars, working directly with the scientists at the Gran Telescopio Canarias to make sense of the millions of pieces of data floating throughout the universe.

Jessie was selected from more than 150 artists from around the world who took part in the call for applications for the START Technarte artistic residency in 2015. She is an Australian new media artist whose work constantly explores new ways of approaching and understanding contemporary art, while embracing the enormous potential of the fusion between art, science, and technology.

For one month, the artist used the most advanced astronomical observation systems to analyse and interpret the millions of pieces of data generated throughout the universe. Working closely with the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), the artist explored data generated by the Sun and designed a work of art inspired by the skies of La Palma.

During the artistic residency, Technarte organised a Technarte TALK, a day of inspiring talks with professionals from the fields of art and astronomy, where speakers highlighted the importance of the fusion between creativity and science.

The final installation was generated from real solar data shared with the artist by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) during her artistic residency at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma. The installation uses recently available technologies to reinterpret real scientific information about the Sun and materialise it in the form of abstract graphics.

Solar oscillation data, which reveal information about the mysterious interior of our Sun, have been reimagined to capture its inner soul, while the sculpture’s outer structure was created from solar spectral irradiance data, which reveal the star’s chemical composition. This combination of body and soul, generated from real scientific data, allows us to glimpse the true spirit of the Sun while exploring the limitless possibilities of new technologies in the world of art.

As part of her residency award, Jessie Hughes presented Soul of Sol – La Palma at the 2016 International Conference on Art and Technology in Bilbao, taking part in one of the world’s leading conferences on art and technology alongside international artists and technologists. It was a unique opportunity to introduce this moving work of art to the world.

The artist gave a presentation on the creative and technological processes behind Soul of Sol – La Palma during her artistic residency at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory.