Melanie King & Prof. Lucie Green

Our artist this month is Melanie King - based in Kent, Melanie works with alternative photography processes, with a specific focus on astronomy. Melanie has collaborated with Lucie Green, who is a professor of physics at UCL.

This piece of art is based on the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter mission which launched in February 2020 and is the latest spacecraft sent to study the sun. The spacecraft has to endure searing heat, but in doing so it has taken images of the sun closer than any other spacecraft. Data gathered by the spacecraft’s suite of telescopes provides views of the sun in ultraviolet light and X-rays, and will help shed light on why the sun produces huge explosions and eruptions in its atmosphere.  

When creating this piece, Melanie and Lucie were inspired to use shapes found within the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. Using ultraviolet light, a form of light which is produced by the sun, a large cyanotype print was produced of the ITV logo.

With this ident, Melanie King and Lucie Green would like to bring attention to the Solar Orbiter. During this time of coronavirus induced isolation, the sun has provided us with vital vitamin D to help us fight infection. The sun has also brought us joy as we participate in our daily exercise outside of our home.