Output details

'Structures Invisible to the Naked Eye' and 'Crucible'

This output is a pair of animations resulting from research with astronomers at Armagh Observatory.

‘Structures ...’ (2008) was commissioned by Belfast Exposed Gallery, and shown alongside works by Trevor Paglen, Simon Faithful and Joanna Griffin in ‘Secret Satellites’, curated by Karen Downey (N. Ireland commissioner, 52nd Venice Biennale).

Crucible (2011) was commissioned for ‘Hybrid’, Redline Gallery, Boulder, Colorado, curator R. Krerrane, featuring seven Irish and seven American artists responding to, Boulder city. Building on the research for ‘Structures', O'Beirn focused on published work from Boulder’s scientific institutes: The Space Weather Prediction Centre and The National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Both animations were subsequently shown in ‘Hybrid’, and ‘Tulca Festival of Visual Art’, Galway (curated by Greg McCarthy).

The research for both animations resulted from dialogue with Armagh Observatory into how seemingly disparate astronomical structures relate. O'Beirn developed a ‘show and ask’ methodology in order to initiate dialogue. She created visual material investigating her comprehension of astronomical phenomena. Astronomers responded by enlightening her on other structures whilst they began to think in visual terms about structures they are investigating. Professor Mark Bailey, director of Armagh Observatory, likened O'Beirn's rendition of the earth’s magnetic field to the Oort Cloud, a ‘sphere’ of rock and debris at the sun’s furthermost gravitational reach, the solar system’s boundary. Many images in this animation arose from such conversations. This reciprocal research method formed the basis of their discussion and informed the form of O'Beirn's animations for the exhibitions ‘Secret Satellites’ and Hybrid.

The resulting animations use visual morphing to suggest possible evolutions from one form to another. ‘Structures...’ presents a variety of self-similar structures across the universe separated by light years of distance or differing scales. Some are observed whilst others are as yet theoretical, but none are visible to the naked eye.