{"id":8183,"date":"2026-09-04T07:35:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T14:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8183"},"modified":"2026-09-04T07:35:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T14:35:30","slug":"inploration-highlights-dozens-of-artists-who-explore-space-to-understand-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8183","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Inploration\u2019 Highlights Dozens of Artists Who Explore Space to Understand Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u2018Inploration\u2019<\/p>\n

In his essay \u201cThe Passing Wisdom of Birds,\u201d environmentalist and writer Barry Lopez rued how scientific methodology doesn\u2019t take into consideration our senses or perception, how data is divorced from the experience<\/em> of nature. \u201cBiology should borrow here from quantum physics, which accepts the premise that, under certain circumstances, the observer can be deceived,\u201d he wrote. \u201cQuantum physics, with its ambiguous particles and ten-dimensional universes, is a branch of science that has in fact returned us to a state of awe with nature, without threatening our intellectual capacity to analyze complex events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such is the fascination that grounds the book Inploration: Art Exploring Space to Understand Earth<\/em>, forthcoming from Delmonico Books. The volume is the result of years of work by Richelle Ellis<\/a>, an artist, author, and founder of the curatorial platforms Inploration<\/a> and Supercollider<\/a>, who has spent the past decade investigating what she describes as \u201cthe intersection of art and aerospace.\u201d She\u2019s drawn to the way our questioning of the universe can revive a sense of wonder for our planet and prompt us to consider how we value and care for it.<\/p>\n

\"artist
Cannupa Hanska Luger, \u201cThe One Who Checks & The One Who Balances\u201d (2018 \u2013 ongoing), site-specific land acknowledgement, Navajo Nation. Photo by Chip Thomas, \u00a9 2024 Cannupa Hanska Luger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe coined\u00a0\u2018inploration\u2019\u00a0as a counterpart to exploration,\u201d Ellis says. \u201cRather than looking outward in search of discovery, inploration turns inward, using our relationship to the greater cosmos as a way to better understand ourselves and the planet we inhabit.\u201d The book compiles a wide range of studies, works of art, experiments, and insights from nearly 100 artists, scientists, astronauts, futurists, and others.<\/p>\n

Colossal readers will recognize work by Cannupa Hanska Luger<\/a>, Tavares Strachan<\/a>, Wangechi Mutu<\/a>, and more. From Cai Guo-Qiang<\/a>\u2019s 500-meter fiery ladder to James Turrell<\/a>\u2019s monumental earthwork in the Painted Desert with its skyward aperture, the book challenges us to think about our relationship to not only the earth but everything that exists in the incomprehensible beyond.<\/p>\n

Inploration <\/em>will be released at the end of October, and you can pre-order your copy on Bookshop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"an
Cai Guo-Qiang, \u201cSky Ladder\u201d (2015), gunpowder, fuse and helium balloon, 500 x 5.5 meters (100 seconds). Realized at Huiyu Island Harbour, Quanzhou, Fujian, June 15, 2015, 4:45 am (dawn). Photo by Lin Yi, \u00a9 Cai Studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Lucy McRae, \u201cSolitary Survival Raft\u201d (2020). Photo by Ariel Fisher, \u00a9 Lucy McRae<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Azuma Makoto, \u201cIn Bloom #1: EXOBIOTANICA I-BOTANICAL SPACE FLIGHT\u201d (2014), Black Rock Desert, Nevada. \u00a9 AMKK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
James Turrell, \u201cRoden Crater\u201d (2015). \u00a9 James Turrell, \u00a9 Skystone Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Pannaphan Yodmanee, \u201cIn the aftermath\u201d (2017-18), found objects, artist-made icons, plaster, resin, concrete, steel, pigment, dimensions variable. \u00a9 Pannaphan Yodmanee, courtesy of Queensland Art Gallery Gallery of Modern Art<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Lita Albuquerque, \u201cStellar Axis: Antarctica\u201d (2006). Photo by Jean de Pomereu, courtesy of the artist and the Nevada Museum of Art. \u00a9 Lita Albuquerque<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"the<\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article \u2018Inploration\u2019 Highlights Dozens of Artists Who Explore Space to Understand Earth<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In his essay \u201cThe Passing Wisdom of Birds,\u201d environmentalist and writer Barry Lopez rued how scientific methodology doesn\u2019t take into consideration our senses or perception, how data is divorced from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8183\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}