“As it turns out, much of my scientific research currently centers around gravity,” she said. Wells novel, “The First Men on the Moon.” She was particularly fascinated by the idea of “cavorite,” a fictional material from the novel that defied gravity. As a child, she’d pored over photos of the 1969 moon landing while reading the 1901 H.G. It also proved nostalgic for Natarajan, in one sense. “Every time I was test-running it, I had a rush of adrenaline. “This virtual journey into space and strolling up and down craters is incredibly thrilling as well as disorienting,” said Natarajan with a chuckle. One of their motivations, Natarajan said, is to pay homage to the 50 th anniversary of the moon landing.Įvery time I was test-running, I had a rush of adrenaline. Rodrigo Marques at Acute Art rendered the data for the exhibit by modeling and recreating elements to scale, everything from Earth flowers to moon craters to the Sun. She also lent her physics expertise in making sure that the haptic experience of space captured in the VR experience accurately depicted the “bounce” of walking on the moon’s lower gravity. She suggested that the best data set for “Lunatick’s” purposes would be the publicly available comprehensive mapping from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Natarajan was aware that many unmanned space missions have provided comprehensive, high-resolution maps of the lunar surface.
“Collaborating with Acute Art, we decided that in ‘Lunatick’ we would start from terra firma, escape the gravity of Earth, land on the moon, and walk on its surface, offering an immersive, multi-sensorial adventure.” “When Antony suggested that we use VR to explore and experiment with the sensory experience of gravity and space, I was enthusiastic to help,” she said.
Gormley’s art often focuses on the relationship of the human body to nature and space Natarajan’s research routinely illuminates objects within the cosmos - from massive black holes to the dark energy that swirls around space. She recalled that Gormley was always something of a “space nut,” often quizzing her on how astrophysicists are able to visualize and map space using only light rays to make invisible realms visible. Natarajan and Gormley - a visual artist and recipient of the Turner Prize in 1994 whose work includes many pieces in the collection at the Yale Center for British Art - have been friends for more than a decade, since Natarajan’s days as a research fellow at Trinity College in Cambridge. We are simultaneously significant and insignificant.” Left to right: Daniel Birnbaum of Acute Art, Priyamvada Natarajan, and Sir Antony Gormley (Courtesy of Acute Art) “What thrills me most about ‘Lunatick’ is how the combination of data, imagination, and the latest technology can succeed in powerfully conveying how we as a species occupy this paradoxical place in the universe. “Virtual reality permits us to share more broadly the magic and majesty of our universe in a more intimate, experiential way - a space ride like none other,” said Natarajan, a professor of astronomy and physics at Yale. It’s set to premiere April 4 at the London art gallery The Store X.
The result is “Lunatick,” a virtual reality (VR) experience curated by Natarajan, the eminent British sculptor Sir Antony Gormley, and the company Acute Art. Priyamvada Natarajan has perfected her moonwalk.Īfter years of envisioning the inner workings of quasars and mapping out the likelihood of dark matter, Natarajan has cast her attention to the idea of what it would be like to walk on the moon.
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