'my hubble' (the universe turned in on itself), 2010 by peter hennessey
plywood, steel
life -sized, dimensions variable
image © designboom


australian artist peter hennessey's bold and intricately constructed large scale sculptures
and multimedia works are imbued with both symbolic intensity and a sense of familiarity.

born from his fascination with scientific phenomena and popularised media generated events,
'my hubble' (the universe turned in on itself) debuts in the turbine hall of cockatoo island as
part of the biennale of sydney 2010. it is a life size re-enactment of the hubble space telescope
- a space based observatory that has revolutionised astronomy by providing deep and clear
views of the universe. with the aim of giving the viewer a physical experience of the object,
it is constructed from lasercut plywood and steel and simultaneously enacts the scale and detail
of the original. in this instance the telescopic function is reversed and visitors are encouraged to
play with,  modify and create their own mini universes on the ground, which are then reflected
by the telescope into the heavens.


when creating his work hennessey looked at 7 different images of the hubble. rather than using
3D software to model individual parts as one might expect, he used adobe illustrator. the whole
process took about 3 months - in which 6 weeks were dedicated to laser cutting individual parts
and building them into sections and the rest of the time was dedicated to assembling 'my hubble'
on the island.



'my hubble' - detail
image © designboom



looking up into 'my hubble'
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the side view of  'my hubble'
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image © designboom



the side view of  'my hubble'
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'my hubble' - detail
image © designboom


image © designboom



image © designboom



the view from above
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'my hubble' - detail
image © designboom



looking down into 'my hubble'
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looking down into 'my bubble'
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'my hubble'
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'my hubble'
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detail of my hubble
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peter hennessey
image © designboom


the project was assisted by arts victoria; gunnersen and new touch laser cutting.