Mark HeineB次元官网网址檚 paintings evoke humansB次元官网网址� connection to the Earth and have travelled all over the globe.
There lies the irony in two of his paintings, which capture humanityB次元官网网址檚 dependence on the life-giving oceans and will be leaving the planet later this year, to live forever on Lacus Mortis, the moonB次元官网网址檚 Lake of Death.
Super compressed digital copies of the Victoria artistB次元官网网址檚 paintings, Imminent and Duress, will be included in The Lunar Codex, a collection of creative works from 3,000 artists worldwide that will be sent to the moon aboard the Peregrine Lander in December.
His two moon-bound paintings are from a series called Sirens that heB次元官网网址檚 been working on since 2014.
B次元官网网址淭he fact that this whole series of work is about trying to take care of the planet weB次元官网网址檙e on now B次元官网网址� and then itB次元官网网址檚 going to be off on the moon B次元官网网址� is kind of a strange contrast,B次元官网网址� Heine said.
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B次元官网网址淥ur hope is that future travelers who find these time capsules will discover some of the richness of our world today,B次元官网网址� says Samuel Peralta, The Lunar CodexB次元官网网址� payload coordinator and curator.
As his paintings await their lunar leap, itB次元官网网址檚 indescribable for Heine that his art will be among the galactic gallery.
B次元官网网址淚t basically just sits there for the rest of time,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 bizarre, itB次元官网网址檚 a very strange feeling to know that my work is going to be off the planet.B次元官网网址�
HeineB次元官网网址檚 cheery personality comes out with each jovial laugh, a contrast to the mystical visuals of drowning desperation, coastal wistfulness and sorrow told by his brushstrokes in Sirens.
| A digital form of this painting, Duress, by Victoria artist Mark Heine will be going to the moon later this year. (Photo courtesy of Mark Heine) |
While his art is reaching the highs of space, itB次元官网网址檚 the home of EarthB次元官网网址檚 depths that inspire Heine. The oceans have been central in his life since he was young and itB次元官网网址檚 led to him putting all of his artistic might into preserving them.
HeB次元官网网址檚 in the late stages of finalizing a fictional book that plays off the characters of the Sirens paintings. HeineB次元官网网址檚 artistic process has been an interplay between his paintings and his writing, with each inspiring the other along the way. The book is a contemporary interpretation of HomerB次元官网网址檚 Odyssey and tells a tale of Sirens B次元官网网址� creatures from Greek mythology B次元官网网址� that are harmed by mankindB次元官网网址檚 pollution, garbage and species exploitation. He hopes his storytelling will get youth fired up about environmental sustainability.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really the ocean crying out to us to try and change the way that we treat the environment,B次元官网网址� Heine said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 about trying to give a personality to the ocean.B次元官网网址�
He sees young people burnt-out by a bombardment with gloomy climate change issues and a hurting Earth, so he hopes a different perspective will awaken their desire to be the planetB次元官网网址檚 saviours.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 trying to get them interested in the story and give the environment more of a voice,B次元官网网址� Heine said.
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Do you have a story tip? Email: jake.romphf@blackpress.ca.
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