Bay Area artist featured in 'Lunar Codex' time capsule to the moon

SAUSALITO, Calif. - A Bay Area artist will soon have her work featured on the moon as part of a special exhibition called "Lunar Codex." It will include work from around the world, sent to the moon in time capsules. 

Sausalito-based figurative bronze sculpture artist, Oceana Rain Stuart, says she started creating when she was just two years old. Now, her work has been featured in more than 100 exhibitions, galleries and museums around the world. 

No matter where it’s displayed, the mission of her work remains the same: to evoke emotion and thought. 

"I’m talking a lot about the human condition," said Stuart. "Talking a lot about interpersonal relationships, what it’s like to be a human on this planet." 

Her work will now be featured beyond this planet. She’s been invited by Dr. Samuel Peralta, a Canadian physicist and artist, to be part of the "Lunar Codex."

"It’s literally a mind-blowing, out-of-this-world opportunity that presented itself to me," said Stuart.

Stuart is one of 30,000 artists, writers, musicians and creators from around the world to be featured in the celestial collection. Twenty-two of her pieces will be captured on "nanofiche," a new way to archive media.

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Dr. Peralta expanded the project during the pandemic, as a way to offer hope to artists at a difficult time. 

"There was still beauty and hope during the pandemic, we were finding a way to get through it," said Stuart.

This is not the first time art’s been sent to the moon. The second crewed moon landing mission in 1969, Apollo 12, carried six artists’ work, including Andy Warhol. 

Stuart and others in the Lunar Codex will be some of the first female artists to have work on the moon. She says it marks progress, and shares this message for other up-and-coming female artists. 

"Never give up, keep going, and know that you can not only achieve your dreams, be open to beautiful surprises along the way."

After she was asked to be part of the project, Stuart was inspired to create a new piece, dedicated to Dr. Peralta. 

"I created a sculpture, kind of playing with the notion, of man on the moon," said Stuart. "I created a sculpture called ‘Woman from the Moon.'"

Until she can visit the moon for herself, Oceana is excited about the prospect that whoever or whatever finds the capsule, can see the earth how she sees it. 

"Maybe someday it’ll be discovered and will be a relic of what life was like at this point in life as seen through the eyes of artists," said Stuart.

The Lunar Codex is being spread out over four launches. The ‘Neon’ collection which includes Oceana, will take off later this year.