Astral Bulb emerged from a body of work that began with my solo exhibition For All We Know (2019). That exhibition examined the imaginary lines we draw across the land (borders) and the imaginary lines we trace across the sky (constellations) as markers of the range of human thinking, both constructive and destructive. The land lines reveal our instinct to divide, contain, and confine. The sky lines reveal our capacity for wonder, projection, and expansive imagination.

Constellations can be understood as some of the earliest stories to transcend generations—arguably our first illustrated narratives. They represent an early and profound attempt to impose order on chaos, to make meaning from the unknown. While developing the 2019 exhibition, the same line of inquiry led to Our Place in Space, a 9km-scale public sculpture trail of the solar system. The work sought to shift perspective and invited viewers to consider the triviality of human conflict when measured against the vast distances of space and time. During this period, I participated in several festival panels alongside astrophysicists and cosmologists. I asked whether there is a single consistent point within every constellation. The answer was no.

I disagreed.

If we imagine the stars scattered across our galaxy like dust suspended in a shaft of light, even the slightest shift in position would rearrange the pattern entirely. Constellations only cohere from one specific vantage point: Earth. From any other position in space, they dissolve. In that sense, there is one consistent point in every constellation—this planet. Following this perhaps illogical thread: although Galileo Galilei demonstrated that Earth is not the center of the universe—indeed, not even the center of our solar system—it is still the only known place where there is life, memory, story, music, and food. And if those things exist nowhere else, then in another sense, Earth may be central after all. This painting, created on large expanses of old book covers, engages with this idea. Just as ancient minds (no less evolved than our own) invented the constellations we still recognize today, I allowed myself to invent new ones. But rather than rely solely on celestial light, I incorporate sources of human-made illumination. Using books as the foundation for these works reinforces my belief that accumulated knowledge—passed from century to century—is one of humanity’s most powerful tools. Education is our enduring light in the dark. It is what allows us to evolve, rather than endlessly repeat our mistakes.

Or at least, that is the hope.