oscar lhermitte: urban stargazing

'urban stargazing' by oscar lhermitte
(above) the urban stargazing team
all images courtesy oscar lhermitte


french-born, london-based product designer oscar lhermitte has created 'urban stargazing', a series of
12 artificial constellations depicting traditional and contemporary myths around the city of london.
recognizing the current downward trajectory of city dwellers and their attention for stars, the project
seeks to refocus their presence in the night sky by installing new and site-specific constellations that
can be observed with the naked eye.

constructed out of ø 0.6mm nylon line, ø 0.2mm polyethylene braid, ø 0.75 mm fibre optics and
LED lights, the 'stars' are fixed to their location using telescopic catapults. secured by nearby trees,
the lights are charged by tiny solar panels during the day and automatically switches on when it is dark
enough to see. each design references a specific story that is relevant to the city of london, such as
'the mosquito' which relates to the unique species of the insects discovered in the london underground
in 1985, and 'the irish giant and hunter', after british surgeon john hunter and his work with the corpse
of charles o'brien, a 2.34 meter tall giant who's skeleton rests at the hunterian museum in lincoln's inn fields.

'urban stargazing' was conceived for the royal college of art summer show and will be on view until
3 july, 2011. for more information on the project and to do a star gazing walking tour, click here.



'the mosquito' set up at its location



'the mosquito' at night



'the triangle'



'the irish giant and hunter'



'the ring'



'the brick'



'the v2'



'the guitar'



the 'urban stargazing' team



make-up of constellation








via wemakemoneynotart