Courtesy of the artist"TRAPPIST 1," 3.5” x 2.5,” 2019
Sarah Hearn
"Astrobiological Futures"
August 26–October 18, 2019
Exhibition Statement
Above, In Between, Below and Out There
I am an interdisciplinary visual artist researching how humans can collaborate with, understand and learn from the collective phenomena of the physical world--nature.
Through intense investigations of geology, biological life, and astrobiology, my work navigates shifting boundaries between science and science fiction. Science was designed to quantify and organize our knowledge about the world around us; yet the universe exists beyond human constructs create to define it. Science fiction makes way for previously unimagined relationships to thrive, and at times has been instrumental in forecasting the future of our world.
My practice is firmly rooted in drawing, photography and installation. I employ the scientific method, collaboration and public reciprocity. Above, In Between, Below, and Out There are ongoing, interconnected bodies of work testing the limits of current scientific knowledge and exploring what is hidden in the universe.
Out There: Astrobiological Futures
"Astrobiological Futures" is a science fiction account of the recently discovered TRAPPIST 7 planets. Located in the Constellation Aquarius, the TRAPPIST 7 orbit the ultracool red drawf star, TRAPPIST 1. These temperate, terrestrial exoplanets travel close in range to one another appearing as large moons in each others skies. The exhibition includes representations of each planet, and a series of specimens collected on three separate space missions. You are invited to join the discovery, suspended disbelief and get lost in the odd and unfolding narrative among the TRAPPIST exoplanets.
Artist Bio
Sarah Hearn is an interdisciplinary visual artist and citizen researcher. Through explorations of biological life and natural phenomena, the artist’s work inhabits two realms- one grounded in studies of life on planet earth, and another hovering in a hazy atmosphere of science fiction.
Hearn’s artwork has been exhibited in museums, galleries and art spaces across the United States including the 2018 exhibition, Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World at the Spencer Museum of Art. She has contributed to international collaborations in Brooklyn, Berlin and Reading, UK. Recent solo exhibitions include: Microtopia and Accumulation at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, MO; An Unnatural History at Art Center of the Ozarks in Springdale, AR; and Invisible Landscapes at University of Notre Dame. Her multi-year collaboration with Lichenologist Sheila Strawn recently resulted in a published field guide for Lichens of Oklahoma. Hearn has represented the United States in the World Creativity Biennial. Residencies include: Charlotte Street Foundation studio resident and the visiting artist in residence at Cow House Studios in County Wexford, Ireland. She was a 2015-2016 co-curator at PLUG Projects, a Kansas City based curatorial collaborative dedicated to contemporary artists.
Since 2015, Hearn has served as the Regional Program Manager for Artist INC and is a member of the Artist Services team at Mid-America Arts Alliance. She is consciously working within her community and beyond to cultivate a climate where artists can thrive. She earned a BFA from the College of Santa Fe, and an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology.