CONSTELLATION CARDS
Natural and hand-foraged pigments on tea-stained paper
21cm x 14.8cm (8.3” x 5.8”)
2020
A set of cards for connecting with the cosmos.
Since time immemorial humans have looked up at the night sky, identifying patterns in the stars and assigning to them myths and meaning. Today, the modern constellations are still recognised by their mythological names, illustrating that even as science and technology become more advanced and more rational, the tradition of myth is ever-present. For there is no wonderment in the the naming of stars (astronomy) if we do not also recognise that there is a wisdom or logic of the stars (astrology), one which our ancestors cognised centuries ago. And so this set of cards is intended for star-gazing; for recognising not only the patterns and names of the constellations, but also the wonder of the human imagination and intuition that devised them, and inevitably, the beauty and mystery of the night sky.
There are 12 cards showing 15 of the more recognisable constellations visible in the Northern Hemisphere at various times throughout the year. Each of the cards is perforated with holes corresponding to the magnitude of the stars they represent, an idea inspired by a 19th century card deck called ‘Urania’s Mirror’. All of the stars are labelled, and each constellation is placed on a celestial grid, with the galactic coordinates labelled around the edges. The information for each card came from the International Astronomical Union’s constellation maps.
This is an ongoing series, that will eventually comprise all 88 modern constellations — and maybe more!
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