Hammer and Feather – Experiments in Space
A group exhibition with Tim Acheson, David Beattie, Karl Burke, Cecilia Dannell, Angela Fulcher, Dana Gentile, Ann Maria Healy, Clare Lymer, Laura McMorrow and Victoria McCormack. Curated by Mary Conlon
The Niland Gallery
10th June – 2nd July 2011
Opening reception: Thursday 9 June 2011, 6-8pm
Forty years ago this summer, Commmander David Scott conducted an experiment on the moon. On the final walk of the Apollo 15 mission, he performed a live demonstration dropping a hammer and a feather in the vacuum of the lunar atmosphere. With no air resistance, both hammer and feather hit the surface at the same time proving all objects fall at the same rate, just as Galileo had proposed hundreds of years earlier.1 Galileo’s significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, physics and astronomy are widely acknowledged, unlike the philosophical prose, artistic training and aesthetic observations that informed his experiments and hypotheses. His strategies often led to inconclusive results and failed attempts, but despite being limited by the technologies of the time, his creative process would influence and inform multiple disciplines for centuries. The legacy of his controversial explorations changed our world view.
In her recent article, In Free Fall – A Thought Experiment on Vertical Perspective,2 Hito Steyerl writes: “Imagine you are falling. But there is no ground.” And if everything falls at the same rate, would we even realise? Anti-foundational philosophy suggests we are in a period of metaphysical ‘groundlessness’ – a time for re-evaluation or re-definition is required during which we must re-orientate our limitations to new horizons. Perhaps we should not be looking for stable ground but should remain floating observers in perfect stasis. Or not. “{F}alling does not only mean falling apart, it can also mean a new certainty falling into place.” 3
Hammer and Feather features the work of 10 artists whose engagement with materials and space continues to challenge and resist the physical and canonical frontiers of art practice. A remote-control plinth; mapping light; abandoned festival tents; tectonic sculptures; hovering objects. In the context of the new Niland Gallery, the exhibition invites artists and visitors to imagine the possibilities and potential of this space - once empty in the vacuum of the economic downturn and now a site for discussion, discovery and, of course, experimentation.
Hammer and Feather – Experiments in Space is curated by Mary Conlon, Shinnors Scholar. The Niland Gallery is an Engage Art Studios project and is made possible by the generous support of the Niland family and the Arts Council. The Niland Gallery is open Friday and Saturday from 12 until 5pm or by appointment and is located on Merchants Road, Galway. Contact: www.engageartstudios.com
Image: David Beatie, White Light, 2010
1Joe Allen, NASA SP-289, Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report, Summary of Scientific Results, p. 2-11
2Eflux Journal, Issue 25, May 2011
3Ibid, Issue 25, May 2011
