Terris Novalis Nova

Tony Cragg's 'Terris Novalis' sculpture dressed in NASA gold foil, pointing up towards an electric purple sky, expecting to measure, discover and observe.

The real sculpture of 'theodolite and level' sits almost unnoticed behind a traffic junction in a small faded industrial town in Northern England.

The image started life as a series of High Dynamic Range photographic stills, covering around 10 stops of light. These were digitally enhanced and merged to bring out an invisible texture in the sky. The warm NASA glowing gold foil is far more commanding and implies more than the cold steel used in construction. Some considerable work went into preserving and re-creating the detail in metalwork and lizard feet in particular.

The sculpture asks its own questions. What is it looking for, why is a small object placed so large in such an obscure location? However when seen in real life, to my eye the sculpture is little more than a park curiousity. What's missing is drama. Excitement.

The objects speak of journey and discovery, but lack adventure. I wanted to give electric power to the sculpture, the sky, the potential discovery and the impending voyage.

'Terris Novalis' means New Ground. We should venture out into the stars to find it.