Life Size Mars

An ongoing series of tiny pencil drawings that render sections of Mars’ surface in a 1:1 scale. Though we might be accustomed to the spectacular images of Martian vast landscapes, I am fascinated by these close up views that make Mars intimate and more tangible. Drawing them at life-size emphasises the almost microscopic view of such a vast object technology allows.

The series started in 2017 when I drew the small spherules near Fram Crater, nicknamed ‘blueberries’, photographed by the microscopic imager on Opportunity’s robotic arm of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover in 2004. This drawing is now part of the permanent collection of The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds. In 2024, I expanded the work for an exhibition at Our Big Picture in Grimsby (UK).