Ascendance by Studio McGuire
Premiering for the very first time anywhere in the world, Ascendance is the creation of powerhouse duo Davy and Kristin McGuire, known as Studio McGuire. The pair wowed at Bristol Light Festival 2023 with their beautifully pensive works, Ophelia and Sirens, and have worked with luxury brands including Dior, Barneys and most recently, SAKS on 5th Avenue, New York City, for its renowned Christmas window installation for 2023.
Unveiling their latest, and arguably most emotive work to date, Ascendance, this interstellar installation has been inspired by the idea of loneliness, and features an isolated astronaut floating alone in the grandness of the cosmos. The astronaut creates an angelic figure as it drifts through space, with the beautiful nature of the piece amplified further as it will be projected in an iconic Bristol location, yet to be revealed.
Artists Davy and Kristin McGuire said:
“We are delighted to be returning to the Bristol Light Festival, which is such an inspiring setting for us to showcase our work. With Ascendance, we wanted to demonstrate how beauty and sorrow can be deeply linked. The astronaut, who is losing oxygen as he floats untethered amongst the stars, is cocooned in a hallucinatory garden creating an exquisite image that contrasts against the stark sadness of his isolation. We are very proud to be unveiling this for the first time in Bristol, a city we called home for a very long time.”