Several outlets reported last week that a creation called We Rise Together – By the Light of the Moon, by artist and philanthropist Sacha Jafri, is set to land on the Moon soon. The launch will be conducted from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida the first week of March. 46-year-old Briton Sacha Jafri currently lives and works in Dubai. During its preparations last year, this extraterrestrial project, in the truest sense of the word, was revealed during a press conference in the United States pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai. “This is officially the first artwork to be placed on the Moon as part of the NASA CLPS initiative. Space industry organizations have therefore teamed up with one of the world’s most famous artists, Sacha Jafri, to achieve this feat,” the press release reads. On the technology side, it is specified that the work will be placed on the surface of the Moon by Spacebit, a company developing technology for space exploration, and Astrobotic Technology Inc., which allows instruments to be transported to the surface of the Moon. and equipment. The artistic and humanitarian aspect of the mission was set up by the company Selenian, which specializes in the work of art curators in space.
The work that will be deposited on the Moon engraved in a gold alloy. Safa Mansouri/The Qode Fz LLC
A pattern engraved on gold
As for Sacha Jafri’s creation, which will certainly go down in history, it is an engraving representing a couple made up of a male and a female figure, surrounded by 88 hearts of various sizes. The work was engraved in a special gold alloy developed to withstand extreme conditions and temperatures, up to -173 degrees Celsius, on the surface of the Moon. We Rise Together – By the Light of the Moon will be placed in a crater known as “Lacus Mortis” (Lake of Death), where it will rest, in principle, for eternity. “The characters are intertwined in love, seeking a new understanding of unity and hope, as they embark on their journey of exploration from our inhabited planet to our uninhabited Moon,” commented Sacha Jafri. in a press release. The original design, colorful, shows a heart inside which two entwined figures reconnect while around them flourish flora and fauna. Its purpose, according to its author, being to capture the unification of humanity through love and empathy in whatever space it is. A space which, in absolute terms, is no stranger to the artist. On the contrary, his talent is at its peak when he exercises it over large areas. In this context, the Briton signed the largest painting on canvas in the world, which entered the Guinness Book of Records. Entitled Journey of Humanity, he worked there for seven months, in the midst of a pandemic, in Dubai. The work sold at auction for $62 million, the third highest price ever paid at auction for a work of art by a living artist. Previously, the Rabbit sculpture by Jeff Koons had sold for $91.1 million and Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) by David Hockney for $90.3 million. Sacha Jafri’s artwork Journey of Humanity, which measured over 1,500 m² and incorporated the works of children from more than 140 countries, was purchased by French cryptocurrency entrepreneur André Abdoune. The British artist, who had donated proceeds from the sale to children’s charities, usually works outside the art gallery system. Many of his works are hung in the homes of the greats of this world, such as former American President Barack Obama or certain members of the British royal family, including Bill Gates and George Clooney.
The original design. Photo taken from Instagram account @sachajafri
Jafri’s art in the footsteps of Neil Armstrong
Born in England in 1977, Sacha Jafri attended Eton College and graduated in 2000 with an MFA from Oxford University. Today, at 46, he landed the moon. Always driven by humanitarianism, his work We Rise Together – By the Light of the Moon will be the subject of an NFT whose profits will go to educational organizations. “When the (physical) work lands on the moon, a small beep will sound in the control room, explained the artist to the American channel CNN. 88 non-fungible tokens (NFT) will then be offered for sale on earth and their delivery will be facilitated by the Selenian company. The journey of the artwork should take five to fourteen days. “Astronaut Neil Armstrong left the first human footprint on the Moon 54 years ago. We wanted to leave there, in 2023, the legacy of the first work of art by a living artist. Creation will rest forever in the solitude of the Moon. Emanating from the energy of our Earth, it will carry the vision of a new hope for our planet, bringing it universality, consciousness, connection, empathy and equality,” hopes Selenian.
Several outlets reported last week that a creation called We Rise Together – By the Light of the Moon, by artist and philanthropist Sacha Jafri, is set to land on the Moon soon. The launch will be conducted from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida the first week of March. 46-year-old Briton Sacha Jafri lives and…
