Hebridean Dark Skies Festival seeks photos to send to the moon and back

OPTICKS, a live event by media artist Daniela de Paulis, is one of the headline events at the Isle of Lewis’s second annual arts and astronomy festival, which will run from Friday, February 7th to Saturday, February 22nd at An Lanntair in Stornoway and across Lewis.

Described as a “live Networked Performance between the Earth and the Moon”, OPTICKS will see images transmitted to the moon and back as radio signals in real time.

The event will be hosted in collaboration with radio antennas from around the world, as part of A Day of Creativity and Curiosity, a whole day of performances, workshops and film screenings bringing together artists and astronomers from across the UK and beyond.

Daniela de Paulis is a media artist, licensed radio operator and trained radio telescope operator.

She developed her Visual Moonbounce technology while working as an artist in residence at the Dwingeloo radio telescope in Holland.

Hebridean Dark Skies Festival programmer Andrew Eaton-Lewis said: “We’re very excited to be working with Daniela, and with Gillian McFarland and Ione Parkin from Creativity and Curiosity, on this unique event.

“We’re hoping this callout will really spark people’s imaginations.

“If you could send one photo to the moon and back, what would it be? Your family? A favourite family pet? The mountains or the sea near where you live? We look forward to hearing from you.”

If you would like to take part in OPTICKS, please submit your image together with a short message explaining your choice to [email protected], by the end of January.

If selected, your image will be reflected off the moon’s surface as part of the OPTICKS live performance.