Mariner 9, 2012
3-channel HD video installation with 5.1 surround sound
20 minute loop, 43' x 9'
Originally commissioned by Tyneside Cinema, UK
Mariner 9 presents a panoramic view of a Martian landscape set hundreds of years into the future, littered with the rusting remains from various missions to the planet. Despite its suggested abandoned state, several of the spacecraft continue to partially function, to do their intended jobs, to ultimately find signs of life, possibly transmitting the data back to no one.
Mariner 9 premiered at the Spanish City Dome in Whitley Bay in August, 2012, coinciding with the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on the planet.
Selected reviews:
The Guardian - guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/aug/07/artist-kelly-richardson-mars?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Huffington Post - huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/artist-kelly-richardsons-_n_1747063.html?utm_hp_ref=arts
This is Tomorrow - thisistomorrow.info/viewArticle.aspx?artId=1433&Title=Kelly%20Richardson:%20Mariner%209%20and%20Legion
New Scientist Magazine - newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2012/08/a-desolate-vision-of-the-future-of-mars-exploration.html