‘’Finding Diamonds’’ traveled to the International Space Station (ISS)! A miniature version of the work less than 1 x 1 cm – was mounted on an epoxy resin cube and together with 63 other miniature pieces of Art sit in a gallery grid. This grid flew to the ISS aboard the NG-17 rocket on a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply mission. It was launched on Saturday the 19th of February 2022 at the Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA after 12:39 pm EST (18:39 CET). The Moon Gallery returned to Earth intact in 2023. For more information about the Moongallery, please visit the website.
João hopes the work brings the astronauts an earthly focal point to rest their eyes on after conducting scientific experiments and to remind earthlings of the fragility of our planet. He decided ‘’Finding Diamonds’’ should be his first piece of galactic Art. After all, the photograph was taken during the first-ever ‘’Golden Tulips’’ shoot at the end of the Tulip season in the Netherlands in 2016.
For inquiries, please contact me at hello@joaoprates.com.