This VR experience transports the viewer to the black hole at the center of the Cartwheel Galaxy, located approximately 500 light-years from Earth in the Sculptor constellation. The Cartwheel Galaxy and its unusual shape are the result of a collision between two smaller galaxies. From the perspective of the viewer in VR, the Cartwheel Galaxy extends around them into the distance. A point cloud of light arcs around the viewer, who is situated on an accretion disk at the precipice of the black hole. Notwithstanding the chaos one imagines to be found at the site of a black hole, “Cartwheel Galaxy” is deliberately calm. It imagines a frozen moment before oblivion, with the viewer perfectly balanced on the edge of time and space. Unlike the other VR experiences in “Unfolding The Universe: First Light”, “Cartwheel Galaxy” does not anchor the viewer to the floor, instead allowing them to fly around the space. A few of Webb’s signature golden hexagons are placed on the floor to help visitors anchor their location. The environment in “Cartwheel Galaxy” is created using a surface modeler, with the envelope converted into point clouds. The spinning galaxy is generated by applying textures to animated discs in Blender, a 3D modeling and animation software. The entire world is assembled using Spoke, Mozilla’s 3D scene creator, then published into Mozilla Hubs.

Ashley Zelinskie is Brooklyn-based conceptual artist utilizing a post-New Media approach, wherein the media employed are merely vehicles in service of underlying concepts, she is attempting the process of translating our vast history into an eternal and universal language, while focusing a lens on our place as a small part of a larger whole. Her works span a variety of media, from large- and small-scale sculpture to canvas and print works, each created using cutting edge technology such as 3D printing, computer-guided laser cutting, and satellite plating technology. Her work focuses on visualizing data in abstract forms and finding new and interesting ways to describe complex ideas.

Zelinskie’s work has been featured by The New York Times, Vice, Popular Science, and Hyperallergic. Her work forms part of the permanent collection of the US Department of State Art in Embassies Program, has been exhibited at Sotheby’s New York and most recently the ArtScience Museum in Singapore. Zelinskie is a former resident of New Inc.—the New Museum’s Art and Technology Incubator—and the Shapeways x Museum of Art and design “Out of Hand” exhibition residency. She is currently working in collaboration with NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Smithsonian and is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.