A Galaxy of Suns
Smart Phone App
2016
Created in collaboration with composer Amanda Cole and programmer Warren Armstrong
Available internationally for iPhone and Android
Photographs 1-2 by Silversalt Photography, photograph 3 by Roser Diaz
A Galaxy of Suns is a smart phone app that ‘plays’ the stars as they rise and set over 360˚ of the horizon – for any location on Earth. Operating on a galactic scale this project is a collaboration across contemporary art, music, astronomy and design. A Galaxy of Suns works with the native potentials of smart device technology to create a unique experience of the cosmos accessible to audiences wherever they find themselves in the world.
Tracking the Earth’s motions through space, A Galaxy of Suns documents in real-time the audience’s precise position in relation to the stars, sonifying stellar data to create a sound and visual composition unique to their location in space and time. Using the GPS data automatically recorded by smart phones and operational without network access, the project works with parameters such as location on the horizon, brightness, size, age and chemical composition of stars, and translates them into sonic and aesthetic variables including rhythm, pitch, volume, panning, colour and light intensity.
Created by artist Michaela Gleave, composer Amanda Cole and programmer Warren Armstrong A Galaxy of Suns connects audiences with the unseen motions of our galaxy, through the intimacy of an app, and the large scale spectacle of choral performance.
“With A Galaxy of Suns it feels like the smartphone has arrived as a viable medium”
“A beautiful combination of music, astronomy, and conceptual art”
Trevor H. Smith, Visual Arts South West, UK
Produced in association with Experimenta Media Arts. Launched in association with Dark Mofo, Tasmania, and Bristol Biennial, UK.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
A Galaxy of Suns is supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW.
