Phil Coy – Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Space Residency
Artist Phil Coy undertook a residency at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) Space, the largest Space Science research department in Europe.
Coy was interested in the history of ocular vision as it relates to the interrelationship with space based Earth Observation. His film explores these interests and is specifically designed to be presented in planetariums; projected onto the convex surface of a 180° screen.
Coy began working with digital satellite imagery as source material in 2000 before Google Earth (2004) and satellite navigation became the ubiquitous cultural phenomenon they are today. The residency placed Coy at the heart of the UK’s centre of digital satellite observation with extraordinary access to research and some of the most relevant technical and conceptual resources available.The residency was advised by Dr Hugh Mortimer, research scientist at RAL Space; Dr Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich; Richard Dunn, Senior Curator and Head of Science and Technology at National Maritime Museum London; and Alice Sharp, Director of art and science organisation Invisible Dust.