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The Constellation of the Elephant
by Alexander Beeching

ARTIST STATEMENT

I have long been interested in the idea of finding one’s way, both literally and metaphorically. The stars can give you your bearings like Polaris or tell you your longitude and latitude. The Mesopotamians saw many things in the heavens: Orion’s belt, and the twelve signs of the zodiac to name but a few. Later, others saw different patterns there so that, for instance, the Assyrian Hired Man and the Swallow became the constellations of Aries and Pisces.

What struck me about these star maps is that with the slight effort of imagination one can see what one wants there, just as a cloud can look like a camel, a hat and a trombone respectively to different people. A constellation implies a relationship. The stars are grouped together to form a pattern and then a label is put on that pattern. Perception works in much the same way. We call a flat surface with four (although not necessarily) legs a table. But whence this identity? What defines “tableness?”

I decided to come up with my own set of imaginary constellations, of which the Elephant is the first. First drawn in pencil, it was scanned into a computer and there turned into a negative. I have sought to make it pleasing to the eye, and to give it a stark simplicity so that it will look well in many sorts of space.

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More art by Alexander Beeching

  • Momento Vitae
  • The Bison Constellation
  • The Dandy Gorilla

The Constellation of the Elephant

by Alexander Beeching

archival pigment print

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  • Limited-edition, exclusive to 20x200
  • Museum quality: archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper
  • Artist-signed + numbered certificate of authenticity included
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These prints are created using archival pigment inks on 100% cotton rag paper with a matte finish.

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.

 

How to Frame Your Art

All of our prints have a minimum border of .25 inches to allow for framing. We do not alter the aspect ratio, crop or resize the artists' originals—quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the image, not the printed image itself. For exact image sizes and more helpful info, view our framing guides: