Working with scientific data gathered from the Chandra Observatory, NASA’s flagship mission for X-Ray astronomy, and other sources,  Infinity in our Hands explores the lifecycle of stars through sound, touch and light. It includes speculative fiction, star sonifications, field recordings and glass renditions of astral data, to provide an experience of the interconnectedness of stars with human life. Factual historical encounters with a dying star and speculative fiction voiced human concerns on resource depletion and the inevitable demise of the Earth and Sun. An ever-changing score unfolds as the work is ‘played’ by the audience using handheld torches that activate light sensors coded to sound.

With thanks to our project partners, Nicolas Bonne (Tactile Universe), James Trayford (STRAUSS), and the Smithsonian Institution.

Learn more about how we sensified the data here

Collaborators Kristine Diekman (USA), Liz Waugh McManus (UK), and Lisa Mansfield (Australia) work across generative media, sound, drawing, glass-making, community-based projects, and interactive electronics to communicate diverse narratives and data to engage listeners. Their work ‘1.5 Degrees of Concern’ was longlisted for the 2022 Lumen Prize (art and technology field). Kristine is Professor Emeritus of California State University and active in acoustic ecology. Liz’s PhD research at the University of Sunderland developed an ‘Internet of Glass Things’, blending qualities of glass with new technologies and physical computing. Lisa is the senior time-based media conservator at Art Gallery of NSW, preserving artworks with performance, electronic,and software dependencies. 

Images below of visitors interacting with Infinity in Our Hands were taken during Sound Scene 2024 Festival at the Hirshhorn Museum (Smithsonian) in Washington DC.