Photo Op - SOFT LAUNCH

Soft Launch: An Exopoetics of the Crop Circle Phenomenon
Emil McAvoy
8 – 29 October 2022

Soft Launch is artist Emil McAvoy's pilgrimage to the epicentre of 'crop circle country' in Wiltshire, UK, embedding himself in communities and subcultures of crop circle makers, researchers, enthusiasts, tourists and locals.

His suite of photographs document the complex and layered landscapes in which this allegedly paranormal or supernatural phenomenon occurs – a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring Stone Henge, Avebury Stone Circle, Silbury Hill, ancient burial grounds, chalk figures carved into the hillsides, military training grounds and swathes of high-yield farmland.

The term 'exopoetics' refers to the idea that this unique region is witness to a test site for extraterrestrial communication – imagined or real – soft launching zones for poetic extraterrestrial exchange on Earth and hidden in plain sight.

A suite of photographs from Soft Launch recently appeared as part of the international group exhibition The Truth is Out There, curated by Dr. Chelsea Nichols for The Dowse Art Museum, 12 March – 14 August 2022.

Soft Launch was revised and expanded for this solo exhibition at PHOTO OP.

The associated photobook publication features a number of previously unreleased photographs published by McAvoy’s new imprint PUFF PIECE x Bad News Books.

Special edition print available with book purchase.

Emil McAvoy, from the series Soft Launch: An Exopoetics of the Crop Circle Phenomenon, 2012/22, exhibition and photobook.

Soft Launch, installation view, photo courtesy of Hamish McLaren

Soft Launch book cover, design by Greg Simpson and Michael Mahne Lamb, published by PUFF PIECE x Bad News Books

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