In March, School of Theatre, Film & Television MFA Candidate Ivy Wahome joined a group of artists in a six-day simulated moon mission named Imagination 1 at the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars (SAM) habitat located on the Biosphere 2 campus.
Wahome joined crew members and fellow artists Christopher Cokinos, Elizabeth George, and Julie Swarstad Johnson in the innovative habitat from March 10 to 15. The space comprises living quarters, a workshop, greenhouse, and a half-acre moon-Mars surface yard and a terrain park. The crew’s goal was to explore the value of art in space exploration and produce creative works inspired by the limitations and possibilities of life and culture beyond Earth.
Before embarking on the mission, Wahome shared her hopes for the mission: “The message I want to send home is for humanity to be mindful of our carbon footprint because sustainability and space travel are intertwined. I will attempt to capture scenes of our mission through the art of appliqué, embroidery and patch work with this message in mind.”
During the mission, Wahome, an MFA candidate in costume design and production, focused her efforts on creating a tapestry of the mission and its occupants using a blanket from her childhood. “When I first started this project I knew very little about our Moon and Space travel. I remember, as a child looking at the full moon as I drifted off to sleep. I decided to use this memory as a launching pad for this project,” Wahome shares.
“My mission statement for this project was to repurpose, recycle and reuse what I already had. This being a blanket, I see it as a multifunctional piece. It can be used for warmth but also as base to use. We were really cold our first night on the moon. Stitching dreams on a journey to the Moon. The plan is to sew important symbols using appliqués to the blanket as a way to document crew experiences and contributions to the mission. Textiles can be used as a form of archival record of culture , history and identity. They can carry rich information about craftsmanship in various aspects of human life.”
Wahome explains that the top half of the blanket tapestry symbolizes the act of landing, and the footsteps we leave behind. The bottom half of the blanket features appliqués that represent the people and activities from the mission – made during and after their stay.
In addition to her tapestry, Wahome created a small, embroidered bag that was used to carry their tools to and from the Mars yard.
Reflecting on her time in the habitat, Wahome says her favorite area was the Test Module. “To me it felt like a green house because it was almost all windows. I spent the majority of my time in this area fixing my blanket.”
Wahome hopes to have her tapestry finished and ready for display as an installation piece by the end of the year.
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