The invention of the telescope in the early 17th century radically transformed humanity’s image of itself, its own place in the cosmos. From Galileo to us, optical telescopes consist of two lenses. If one would attempt a simple definition of a telescope, it could be said that it is a device that dramatically extends the reach of the eye. The sophisticated astronomy practiced in the Andes had a different approach, ‘water mirrors’ allowed these ancient scientists to study the stars by looking downwards to their reflection.
TEARS TELESCOPE {VIDEO STILL}
‘Tears Telescope’ aims to intertwine these two distinctive astronomical approaches (Western and Andean) by making a telescope that replaces regular glass lenses by droplets. The two images above show the original layout for the experiment. Lastly, the artist decided to use liquid produced by the eyes themselves rather than water, hence teardrops were used as the final lenses. A photograph of the moon, magnified by this tears telescope, was finally taken.
TEARS TELESCOPE {PHOTOGRAPH, THE MOON MAGNIFIED BY TWO TEARDROPS}
