bluedoc: Daito Manabe – COSMOS Residency [Part 1]

Renowned Japanese artist Daito Manabe delivered a unique projection-mapped artwork at bluedot 2017. In a world first use of live astronomical data, and working with the scientists at Jodrell Bank, he transformed the iconic Lovell Telescope into a vivid spectacle from 23:00 until 03:00 each night. This collaboration between world leading scientists and the award winning international artist was the centrepiece of bluedot’s remarkable fusion of art, technology and the exploration of space.

The commission was part of Abandon Normal Devices’ COSMOS project – a flagship international art-science residency at Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory.

The award winning Tokyo-Based Media Artist, DJ and Programmer, Daito Manabe and technicians from Rhizomatiks Research worked with scientists during a residency at Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics in May 2017, before returning to Japan to create a new artwork to inspire audiences at bluedot festival in July 2017.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the discovery of pulsars in 1967, the artists used live data collected by the telescope to create a generative audio-visual artwork.