OUTSTATION #3
A JOURNEY THROUGH INNER SPACE – From 23rd July
Using ideas and concepts developed during OUTSTATION #1 & #2, artists Coleman and Hodges invite you to the closest experience to floating in outer space as is possible on Planet Earth; a flotation tank deep in the middle of a city.
Flotation tanks are small rooms or tanks filled with shallow supersaturated salt water at the same temperature as human skin. The room is sound-proofed and light fast. Once inside, the user floats in the silent darkness. All sensory stimulation is removed, even the sense of gravity.
In the absence of external stimulation the brain very quickly stops seeking external clues and looks inward and the user sinks into a deep relaxed state; the hypnagogic state, the condition between wakefulness and dreaming.
A flotation tank produces a restful retreat from a busy world, however at its most complex, a float session can be used for a profound interior journey; the isolation tank creating a state of ultra deep relaxation and lucid thinking - a place for re-thinking self.
As part of the experience, the artists have created The New Compass, a set of divination cards used before starting the float that act as visual cues to guide you on your journey. We are interested in the responses that the imagery provokes and we will be documenting reactions to The New Compass cards after each float.
OUTSTATION #3 - Float booking information:
Floats last for one hour and there are a limited number of subsidised tickets
at £10 (full price £40) The subsidised floats will be on a first come first served basis. OUTSTATION floats will be available on dates starting from 23rd July.
Floats will take place in Newcastle at Driftwood Float Spa 86 Heaton Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 5HL. www.driftwoodfloatspa.co.uk
Please make your bookings by phone: Tel 0191 209 6298
*When booking say that you’d like an ‘OUTSTATION 3’ Float
For more general information on flotation: http://driftwoodfloatspa.co.uk/floatation-therapy/
Background to OUTSTATION
OUTSTATION #1 (Allenheads Contemporary Arts 21st June 2018) presented an alternative history of the Soviet Space Program. Using the classic Soviet technique of rewriting history to suit prevailing narratives, artists Coleman and Hodges created a new Department within The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Centre (formerly Military Unit 26266 or в/ч 26266) in Star City near Moscow during the early years of the first Space Programme.
From 1962 - 1967, led by the enigmatic Dr Gregor Kormarov, the fictional Department of Deep Navigation explored the psychological aspects of space flight. From research into novel forms of navigation and experiments with theta brainwaves to the analysis of Cosmonauts dreams, the department explored the internal journeys of Cosmonauts and searched for the deeper drives beneath the human desire to explore beyond the horizon.
The New Compass Cards
The archives of the Department of Deep Navigation have recently become available for research and the artists have had access to a notebook containing concepts and drawings. They are in Kormarov’s own hand and it is thought that they represent his interest in the development of new metaphors or archetypes for what he regarded as a new age of humankind.
Based on interviews with cosmonauts and former students of the Department it seems that these ideas were to be used as the basis for a set of cards - possibly similar to Tarot or Divination cards - to be taken on flights as part of a cosmonaut’s basic personal equipment. We speculate that these cards were intended to trigger responses in the deep unconsciousness in response to complex situations during flights – to become a new type of compass for guidance on internal journeys.
For more info on OUTSTATION #1 see https://www.acart.org.uk/beyond-coleman-hodges