Space-inspired art at Rotunda Gallery

The Rotunda Gallery at the Red House, Parliament is hosting an exhibit with work inspired by the International Day of Human Space Flight which is observed on April 12.

The gallery launched its Wonders of the Universe: Time and Astronomical Art exhibit, a collection of 42 local artists with a total of 53 works of art on April 11.

The General Assembly declared April 12 the International Day of Human Space Flight to celebrate each year, at the international level, the beginning of the space era for mankind and reaffirm the important contribution of space, science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals.

A statement said the exhibition is the first of its kind and features a combination of mixed media pieces, photography, acrylic and oil paintings and a range of artists including 17-year-old Samantha Samalal and Shonari Richardson from Tobago.

Richardson told Newsday his piece, entitled Trinis in Apollo, was inspired by his dream of seeing Trinidad and Tobago represented in space. He said he hopes the piece – an acrylic painting which features two astronauts planting a TT flag on the moon – will inspire more young people to venture into astrophysics.

He said he hopes by TTs 100th Independence anniversary in 2062, he will see his vision come to fruition.

Speaker of the House Bridgid Annisette-George said when the idea of the exhibit was proposed, she questioned if an interest in space could be stimulated by art.

“Apart from the fact that art is a fluid subject, I believe that space or astronomical art has always been a part of human history and mythology and I can now proclaim that yes, it stimulates art as it so manifests from this exhibition.”

She said TT nationals have had an impact on the mathematical and astrophysical community in the past, citing the impact of Rudranath Capildeo whose hypothesis – the theory of rotation and gravity – which had implications in the early outer space expeditions of the 1960s and 70s.

Capildeo was a politician and mathematician and the leader of the Democratic Labour Party from 1960 to 1969 and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament from 1962-1967.

The Parliament also partnered with the National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (Niherst) which provided interactive displays along with information on its internship programme with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The statement said, “The NASA I² project was developed to facilitate a structured educational exchange among students from TT, US interns and visiting university students from abroad, under the mentorship of a member of NASA's science and engineering workforce.”

Former NASA intern and TT national Ariel Chitam said the collaboration between Niherst and NASA will facilitate more TT students to go to NASA and take part in current research.

“Most people think we can’t do science (at this level) but at the UWI we have a strong group of astronomers and physicist who do research in outer space.”

She said the Pitch Lake is also a source of information for students. “We can get potential microbes that could be living in space. We have the facilities we just need people to get excited about space to put ourselves on the map and do research that can impact TT and the world.”