Desmond Lazaro b. 1968
The Dunhuang Star Atlas, DSA I, 2019
Pigment Paint & raised ‘Water Gild’ on Wooden (Birch) Support
23.5 x 15.5 inches
60 x 40 cm
60 x 40 cm
Further images
An excavated manuscript from the dunes of the Talkaman Desert, the Dunhuang Star Atlas documents the history of astronomy; a complete simulacrum of the Chinese sky with over 1300 solitary...
An excavated manuscript from the dunes of the Talkaman Desert, the Dunhuang Star Atlas documents the history of astronomy; a complete simulacrum of the Chinese sky with over 1300 solitary stars dating back to the early Tang period (618-907) depicting the constellation of Ursa Major along with clouds and mythical birds amid the continents. This work considers the Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion Map as a celestial body, however, through this work, the artist tries to grasp what lies beyond the map, entering space itself, represented as the void of a pictorial plain. It recalls a time in history where mysticism of the ancients and empirical knowledge resides within a single moment, which would later come to dominate all forms of knowledge.