So, what do you think? Are we alone in the Universe or not? For me, and with no proof either way I am 100% sure that we are not alone. I believe in aliens but I am not sure they believe in us. This universe is massive, bigger than any of us can even comprehend. It's measured in light-years, for God sake! Even the prospect of travelling to the second nearest star, Proximal Centauri would take over four years travelling at the speed of light and that is Red Dwarf unlike our own Star, Mr Sun which is a yellow Dwarf. How many years would you have to travel to find one that is similar to our little fella? And, when you get there maybe they have all left, in a different direction searching out intelligent life in the Universe.
I believe the chances of us ever finding each other is minimal and the chances of us even understanding what we find is even slimmer. We are a product of this solar system and planet and I find it highly unlikely that we will ever meet an alien bipedal humanoid.
Source
Exhibit A
Do you know what this is? It's a blobfish* and it is yet another of the amazing creatures that call this planet their home. He looks quite different to most people I have met and yet he is from the same world. He is a product of his environment, as are we. To be honest I'd be an awful lot less surprised if something like this obducted and wanted to probe me than one of those grey aliens which science fiction loves to depict.
I could have created a blodfish alien for this sculpture I made in Oss, The Netherlands but I wanted to make him a bit more relatable to the public. The piece was for a photo opportunity and so I figured a Grey would be the best bet.
*A blobfish lives very deep down in the ocean and is normally not this handsome. This is how they look when brought to the surface.
My own visitation
I only had a few days to put this sculpture together. My wife Clodagh was soon to have our baby and I knew that I would be taking a bit of time off for paternity leave. I just wanted this sculpture to be fun and a last hoorah! For a while at least until I navigated this new normal. I knew that having a child was going to change a few things and I would need my energy for that.
My Sculpture did have baby-like qualities. Big eyes and a massive head. I am sure all these things were a premonition of what was to come. I like the way he looks at his drinking partner with an expression like Willy Wonka in that famous meme.
It's inquisitive yet, arrogant. Like he has heard it all before and is just waiting for the Rohypnol to kick in. Obviously, I am not referring to Gene Wilders character, he is harmless. For my Alien I wanted subtext. I am sure you get what I was going for. (
My Alien was sitting in a chair similar to the real one the public would use for capturing their moment. In his bag was a device that would be used for doing the probing. It was subtle sinister. Now you know how my mind works.
This project was organised by a Microbrewery and so I used one of their glasses in his hand as a subtle bit of advertising. I really enjoyed this project because I got to stay in a guest room at the brewery and had the whole place to myself in the evening time. This gave me lots of time to think and prepare psychologically for the Alien creature that was soon to enter my life.
Ps
Thanks for reading. I use PeakD to document my work as an ephemeral Sculptor of sand, snow and ice, amongst other things. This will hopefully give it a new life on the Hive Blockchain. Below you will find some of my recent posts.
Bright ideas - sand sculpture
Freaky Foot - sand raking
Innocuous Rift - sand sculpture
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I am also starting to create NFTs of my sculptures and welcome you to my gallery where you can own a bit of ephemeral sculpture history