Rohini Devasher: Detail from mural “Parts Unknown” at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin.

Current Research Topic

Parts Unknown: Making the Familiar Strange

Artist-in-Residence at the MPIWG Explores the Interface between Drawing and Astronomy

Umbraphile or shadow walker, one who is addicted to the glory of total solar eclipses, noctcaeladors defined as those with a strong interest in, and psychological attachment to the night sky - who are these individuals who watch the stars and invest time and resources in the activity? Why do they continue to chase eclipses and other celestial phenomena across the country and sometimes the world? Why do they continue to do the work of observation, conduct the tedious numerical reduction of orbital elements, and find only private sources for publishing their material? What draws them to the night sky? What do they see when they gaze at it night after night? What are the landscapes where such encounters take place? My artistic practice over the past few years has been rooted in science, manifesting itself through content, concept, media and technology. The work has taken many directions, driven sometimes by an exploration of the self organization of pattern, morphology and morphological relationships to a more recent interest in processes of emergence and emergent behaviour.
My current research explores the interface between art practice, specifically drawing and astronomy through the lens of metaphor. Parts Unknown is the result of a four month residency at the MPIWG from March to June 2012 in Department II, Ideas and Practices of Rationality. By Rohini Devasher more