“Sailing through Light”, an installation and data-driven program jointly designed by Chen Shangyin, Zhou Mi and Zhang Hansheng, graduates from Information Studio at CAA’s School of Design & Innovation, won the 2024 CAA Gold Award. This work connects elements such as starlight, biological entities on other planets, the light cycle of biological flows, and the photodynamics of spacecraft into a cohesive whole.

“Sailing through Light” uses solar sail technology and its implications for space exploration as a starting point, utilizing Open Data Projects (ODP) and GraphDoc analysis technology. The work is connected through light and unfolds in a series of creations. It is presented in various forms such as games, digital exhibitions, and installations. The solar sail relies on sunlight to move forward, much like the sailing ships of the Great Age of Exploration over 400 years ago, carrying explorers filled with dreams and hopes, ushering in a new era of space navigation and geographic discoveries.

The creation is divided into three parts: Starlight, representing the stage of interstellar navigation and using the HYGData dataset to restore the real starry sky; Light as a driving force, corresponding to the sailing ships of the interstellar navigation era and designed based on scientific facts in a hard science fiction manner; and Light flowing in ecosystems, corresponding to the destinations of interstellar navigation, exoplanets, combining open data and algorithmic generation to artistically present possible worlds on exoplanets.

This work interprets the future scenarios of space exploration and space migration under the development of China’s aerospace industry. The team’s creation excellently embodies the integration of art and technology, showcasing the immense potential of a mixed team of engineering and art students in artistic creation.

Sailing through Light

Artist: Chen Shangyin, Zhou Mi, Zhang Hansheng (School of Design & Innovation)

Instructor: Hu Xiaochen, Gu Wenjia, Yin Rao