Space Commander Mary
Mary is an astronaut on a mission to challenge old narratives, raise awareness and support diversity within STEM. Originally painted in oil on linen canvas in early 2020, she is now traveling through the digital realm to the metaverse onboard a special limited edition of 55 animated NFTs on Opensea.
***COLLECTION SOLD OUT AS OF 16TH JAN 2022***
The Mission
Space Commander Mary’s mission is to travel the metaverse onboard the 55 limited edition NFTs. Each time Mary completes a quarter of her flight towards her destination, 25% of the total profit will be donated to Stemette Futures. These landmarks also mean special space patch airdrops for collectors.
Women continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields with only 24% of women being in the STEM workforce. Stemette Futures is a registered UK charity that works to help young women and non-binary people into STEM fields by providing programmes, events and platforms.
Track Mary’s progress on the Flight Tracker below.
Mary’s Story
My love for iconography dates back to my childhood. I was sent to a strict Catholic school for my early education. The school was also a convent and the walls of every room were covered with traditional religious iconography as you might expect. It left quite an impression and although I’m not religious myself, this imagery still fascinates and inspires me to this day.
In the school cafeteria, nestled next to the familiar icons and saints, an unexpected portrait hung on the wall - a large NASA portrait of Christa McAuliffe. Every day during my lunch, I would stare at this portrait; the astronaut among the angels. My 6 year old self did not know her story at first, but I was immediately struck by how she appeared completely out of place and to perfectly fit in at the same time. I had so many questions.
Eventually, I would learn the devastating story of the Challenger which took place only a couple of years before I first spotted this portrait. I would learn McAuliffe was also from New Hampshire (my home state) and that she was the teacher chosen out of over 10,000 applicants to be the first civilian to make the journey to space for the NASA Teacher in Space Project. Her excitement was infectious and schools across the country, including her own students, eagerly tuned in to watch the launch. Seventy-three seconds into its flight, the Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic and tragically the lives of all seven crew members were lost.
Once I knew the story, I felt even more connected to this portrait. The years began to pass and as I made my way through the grades, I would still stare at McAuliffe every day. As I ate my lunch, I would imagine new stories for her - somewhere in another universe, where ideas merge, paradigms shift and something new is created.
A couple decades later in late 2019, I felt the urge to express this experience on canvas and I began painting Space Commander Mary - she was completed in March 2020, just days before the UK went into full lockdown due to the pandemic. In this portrait, the immaculate heart is on a space patch with a nod to Mary’s birthplace, delicate moon flowers grow and climb around the shuttle model, and a sacred geometric halo of gold leaf adorns her head. Still a Terror of Demons, rather than crushing it under her foot, the serpent is wrapped around her finger.
Flight Tracker
Track Space Commander Mary’s progress as she travels through the metaverse. Destination met 16th January 2022.
The Sacred NFT Collection
Space Commander Mary is the second Mary portrait painted in the Sacred collection. Work on this collection first began in 2017. It includes several original oil paintings which reimagine narratives within Catholicism, the hero’s journey and our modern day icons from a feminine perspective. I then digitally convert the paintings and bring them to life with animation. Next collection coming early 2022.