Pilgrim was an installation of new work by Andrew Carson developed as part of his time as Artist-In-Residence at Draíocht (May-Dec 2015). Following on from his research into the use and effects of digital devices and social media as the modern ubiquitous means of contact, Andrew’s work explored social structures, systems, and methods of interaction.
Pilgrim took its cue from The Arecibo message, which was broadcast into space from a radio telescope in Puerto Rico in 1974. Its transmission, sent by the scientific community led by Dr. Carl Sagan, was like a single prayer projected into the heavens, looking to connect with other beings. This message, consisting of binary radio frequencies, forms a basic image when translated visually. So far, a response has not been received.
Paying visual homage to the human evolution-heralding Monoliths of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, in addition to ancient standing stones and megalithic monuments, 12 figures were set in the gallery, each etched with this same Arecibo message, but each carrying only a portion of the whole. 12 conceptions of the same prayer; 12 broken translations. Flowing towards these petition-bearers were a cluster of geodesic globes, each one a contained cosmos, a consciousness, a soul. A constellation of individual and uniform beings searching for meaning, for connection, for comfort.
Andrew is a Dublin based Fingal artist and graduated from DIT with a BA Fine Art in 2010. He has shown in solo and group exhibitions extensively around Ireland and also in the UK, Greece, Italy, Spain, Poland and Japan.
Launched by Artist Anita Groener on 23 September, 2015.See more of the artist’s work https://andrew-carson.com/pilgrim
Enjoy Des Kenny chatting to Andrew Carson in Draíocht's Studio
Des Kenny reviews 'Pilgrim'