Astra

In Astra, David Spriggs gives a cloud presence as sculpture. Suspended overhead, a hyperrealistic pink and blue cloud draws viewers to walk around and beneath it, seeking to comprehend what they see. The surreal experience of encountering a cloud indoors creates a sense of wonder: something associated with the open sky now occupies the space of the body.

As viewers move, each viewpoint offers a different encounter. The desire to grasp it becomes part of the work, as the viewer brings the form together in their own perception. It is a sculpture of experience.

Composed of twenty nine UV printed transparent acrylic planes with integrated LED lighting, the cloud extends through depth, allowing colour to accumulate in space. Its softness has often prompted visitors to compare it to cotton candy, lending an almost tactile quality to its atmospheric presence. A mirrored ceiling above the work reflects the cloud upwards, creating the impression that it continues beyond the room’s physical limits. Astra develops Spriggs’ longstanding engagement with the cloud, first explored in his work Perceptible Consciousness (2001).

Commissioned by the State of Kansas, Astra was conceived for the tall central atrium of the Robert B. Docking State Office Building in Topeka, beside the Kansas State Capitol. Visitors encounter the work from several levels, with the Capitol visible beyond the atrium. The title draws on the state motto, Ad Astra per Aspera, “towards the stars through difficulty”.