In a literal out-of-this-world collection, West Wollongong artist John Kennedy is sending his artwork to the moon in the new year.
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He is one of 30,000 creatives to have their art selected for a time capsule called Lunar Codex.
The time capsule includes digitised art, music, magazines, podcasts, TV shows, movies and books from 162 countries and 67 Indigenous nations.
The Peregrine Lunar Lander rocket is set to launch from Florida on January 8, 2024, and land on the moon in mid-February.
Sitting in a cafe in Wollongong Mr Kennedy received a Facebook message informing him that a magazine that features his artwork would be sent to the moon.
"The initial reaction was: I need to confirm to make sure this was actually legit," Mr Kennedy said.
The legitimate space mission includes his artwork 'Illumination' which was published in a Poets and Artists 2016 magazine and the TV series Colour in Your Life, which he featured in.
Lunar Codex: 'Bringing humanity to the moon'
Lunar Codex is the brain-child of Canadian physicist Dr Samuel Peralta who said the creatives chosen are "our representatives from earth to the moon".
"Our hope is that future travellers who find these time capsules will discover some of the richness of our world today," Dr Peralta said on his website Lunarcodex.com.
"It speaks to the idea that, despite wars and pandemics and climate upheaval, humankind found time to dream, time to create art."
The artwork will be digitised on a NanoFiche, an analogue nickel-based film technology that preserves terabytes of information in a microscopic size.
Mr Kennedy said the project includes creatives from diverse backgrounds and gives them a platform to have their stories represented.
"[Dr Peralta is] able to go around the world and gets files of artworks to represent the art of today around the world," Mr Kennedy said.
"One of his motivations is about bringing humanity to the moon."
From the gong to the moon
Mr Kennedy describes his art Illumination as a representation of opening your mind to bigger thoughts.
The Copic pen drawing took him 100 hours to create. It includes imagery of astronauts going to the moon as well as drawings of the 2001: A Space Odyssey movie.
In a separate space mission in late 2024, Mr Kennedy's poem Fire about the Illawarra landscape will also be sent to the moon.
The first line reads "All winter, the Illawarra sun surfed behind the dark wave of Mt Keira".
Art and science worlds collide
The Lunar Codex project represents human imagination, a crucial part of both the arts and science world, Mr Kennedy said.
"Everything starts with the drawing ... something that comes from just a piece of paper that we draw to something that is real in front of us," he said.
"I always like art and science together because I feel like it's all about human security that sort of drives us."
Once the rocket lands Mr Kennedy said both he and his family will look at the moon in a new way.
"You're looking at the moon from a different perspective because you know there's a part of yourself there," Mr Kennedy said.
Marlene Even
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
