Tomas Saraceno is an artist and architect whose utopian vision for cities that float in the air - changing form and joining together like clouds - has led him to create a series of experimental structures such as balloons or inflatable modular platforms that can be inhabited and exploit natural energies.For the 2nd International Artist Airshow Tomas Saraceno was commissioned to create one of these experimental structures at dawn. Despite being postponed due to heavy rain, Saraceno successfully launched his large new experimental solar dome at dawn on Saturday 22 September 2008, with an audience of 40 people.
The project was inspired by the dome created by Dominic Michaelis in 1975, for the film Hu-Man.
A report on the morning appeared on Michaela Crimmin's RSA's Art & Ecology blog: "On a recent Saturday morning I experienced one of the great rewards for working with artists. I got up before dawn to go to Gunpowder Park to see the latest work by Argentinian artist Tomas Saraceno. ... Trained as an architect, Saraceno’s work poses the idea of floating cities. At the invitation of Arts Catalyst he brought a giant inflatable to the early morning autumn mists of Essex. It lay there, a huge circle of sheeting on the ground, held down by sandbags. A small group of lucky, lucky people were there in the dew. Slowly we helped the giant fill with air and grow as the sun came up and saw it brought to life, the colours of the foil which forms part of the material spectacularly colourful as the sun reflected off it.
"This is why I work with artists – this is a serious, magical, unique, positive experience. This is invigoration for the Green movement, for the Climate Change lobby, for the scientists pouring over statistics and charts. Thanks to Saraceno and to Arts Catalyst we who were there will remember this morning for the rest of our lives."
Poetic Cosmos of the Breath was a collaboration between The Arts Catalyst and Gunpowder Park.