Dublin 8* Space Program
The Dublin 8 Space Program was created for my two month residency with SÍM, The Icelandic Association of Visual Artists in Reykjavik in 2012.
I was already fascinated by the potential of making work out in the otherworldly Icelandic landscape when I discovered that the Apollo astronauts had actually trained there in the 1960s.
As the Dublin 8 Space Program my mission was to plant a flag at the locations where they trained. My research indicated the three locations were: Keilir (in the Reykjanes peninsula) and at Herðubreið and Askja (in the Highlands).
Herðubreið and Askja were inaccessible at this time of year due to road closures caused by thawing snow and ice, but Keilir is closer to Reykjavik and I was able to plant a flag there on 22nd April 2012.
Keilir location photo by Paula Fujiwara and original video footage by Gentaro Ishizuka.
During my residency I also made a Knitted Astronaut helmet from Icelandic wool and fibres.
*Dublin city is divided into numbered postal districts - Dublin 8 stretches out from the west of the city centre, where I live, into the suburbs. If Dublin ever developed its own space program, it's unlikely that it would be located anywhere in this part of town.
