Star Holden
Planitesimal (2020) imagines witnessing the movement of light and shadow across an asteroid silently tumbling through space. Surface topography data gathered by instruments onboard NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft in 2012 is mechanically sculpted into a primitive surface, while hundreds of individual lights hidden within the artwork orchestrate shadows revealing millions of years of impact events.
Planitesimal reveals the surface of Rheasilvia crater of asteroid 4 Vesta which was formed at the same time and in the same way as the earth and our moon. Dust and gas from the early planetary disk coalesced to form thousands of planetesimals when our solar system was still a nebula. Orbiting our sun within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Vesta represents a snapshot of the early formation of a planet in our solar system.
Star Holden (1988) is a self taught artist based in London with an interest in capturing natural phenomena and exploring our connection to the cosmos. He uses a combination of digital fabrication methods and traditional techniques to create performative sculptures using a combination of digital technology, light and motion. Star is also the founder of London based R&D Studio - artresearch.tech (A.R.T) creating and developing the technology behind cutting edge installation artworks for artists such as Studio SWINE.