Blending the worlds of science and art, Stardust is the result of an innovative collaboration between American artist Liliane Lijn and NASA's groundbreaking Stardust Project.
Lijn took part in a three-month residency at NASA's Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California in 2005, where she became interested in aerogel - a futuristic material utilised in space exploration.
With a composition of up to 99.8% air, aerogel is the lightest and lowest-density solid known to exist. It has been used by NASA to collect stardust and cometary particles during space flight without damaging them.
Of her work, Lijn says: "I often make use of new technologies to create works that represent the world as energy. A constant dialogue between opposites, my sculptures use light and motion to transform themselves from solid to void, opaque to transparent, formal to organic."
I am mesmerized by the sheer beauty and magic of the translucent forms, almost holographic in their transient nature and sparkling with particles of stardust that are millions of years old.
This is a true example of the way science and art can influence each other; using innovation and technology to inspire, to challenge thinking and to capture the imagination.
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