Mach Infinity will consist of a geodesic dome containing a floral planetarium which proposes an alternative figurative technology for depicting the 16th of Charles Messier’s non-comet “fuzzy” objects, the Eagle Nebula.
Flowers will be used to line the interior walls of a geodesic dome in gaseous patterns with a webbed network of petals and flower heads on mono-filament. The plants used will include scabiosa, hydrangea, roses and their petals, the centers of sunflowers, vanda orchid heads, peonies, chocolate cosmos, black callas, echinacia, and other seasonal flowers.
With this project — a blending of botany, astrophysics and handicraft — we hope to recapture a sense of wonder in the face of these awe-inspiring phenomena, to rediscover a poetics of data visualization.
This project was assisted in part by a grant from the Cookie Jar Fund of the Institute For Figuring.