“Vox Dei in Cyberia”

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Ariane` Kamps

A Penticton artist will soon have two of her paintings in a time capsule being sent to the Moon.

Ariane` Kamps work was chosen to be part of the Lunar Codex – a project to send time capsules to the Moon containing the digital works of 30,000 artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers.

“It blows me away,” Kamps said. “I always wanted to be an astronaut, but I wasn’t great at math so I guess this is the next best thing.”

One of the paintings, titled "Clover," feature her daughter as the subject. The second is titled “Vox Dei in Cyberia” is of a nude woman standing in a jungle, holding an apple with a halo over her head.

“(Vox Dei in Cyberia) is a lot more provocative than the gentle portrait of my daughter,” she said

"Clover"

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Ariane` Kamps

Kamps focuses much of her creative energy on the relationship between humans and technology.

“Especially during the pandemic when we were all on Zoom, chatting online – and it just made me wonder what is the future going to be like with this? What is it turning into?” she said.

And as a fan of science fiction, the customs and values that are forming around online culture remind her of a religion in its infancy.

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Kamps’ artwork isn’t necessarily casting technology in a bad light. As somebody who’s sending their artwork to the Moon, and able to connect online with galleries across the continent, she’s grateful for what it can offer.

“It’s not really come to any conclusions but sort of start a conversation,” she said.

The Lunar Codex will be launching time capsules to the Moon on four separate missions. Kamps’ work will be hitching a ride on the upcoming NASA Artemis 1 mission. The planned launch date is Sept. 27, according to NASA. However, in this instance her artwork won't be staying too long – it will orbit the moon before returning to earth in November.

"Artemis I will be the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to build a long-term human presence at the Moon for decades to come," the space agency said. 

Artemis 2 is scheduled to return to the moon with a manned crew in May 2024. Lunar Codex won't be involved in that mission.

The first time capsule staying behind on the moon will be travelling on the United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur which is scheduled to launch in December. For those familiar with the Moon's geography, it will be placed in the Lacus Mortis region. 

The second capsule is going to the moon January 2023 on SpaceX's Falcon 9. It will be placed in the Oceanus Procellarum region. 

And the third time capsule is going to the moon November 2024, and also on SpaceX's Falcon 9. It's going to the Lunar South Pole.

Kamps said it's unclear at this time which capsule being left behind on the Moon will include her art.

Unlike many time capsules, these ones aren't scheduled to ever be opened. But it's hoped they will be because the digital archives are going up there for the purpose of one day being rediscovered, according to the Lunar Codex site. 

"Whoever finds them - alien or human - will likely be smart enough to figure them out, just as we can still decipher Babylonian even when the writing has been eroded down to the tablet surface," Lunar Codex said on its website.

To check out more of Kamps' work head to her Facebook page here.

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