This artwork was printed on Sunset Photo Metallic paper. The work was created as one panel that is face-mounted to Plexiglass®. The artwork is 58 x 92 inches.

About this image:

This image is inspired by the Subaru Telescope and its ability to see into the furthest reaches of the visible universe. The observation system's Suprime-Cam (SC) is equipped with a prime-focus corrector, a complex lens unit developed and manufactured by Canon. For the lens system, Canon employed aspherical lens elements, which are more difficult to manufacture as aperture increases, helping to reduce the number of lenses used and minimize the total weight without compromising resolving power.

The Pleiades (which translates as Subaru in Japanese) constellation inspired the use of astronomy. There is also a reference to the eye and to the fact that Nano technology has developed a biomimetic moth eye (natural aspherical structure) with its natural anti reflective properties. The compound lens of a moth is characterized by a myriad of hexagonally shaped ommatidia, each of which is an optical micro lens that can produce an individual image thereby endowing a large field of view without an increase in the eye volume.

Natural Insight: About the Project

The digital artworks in this collection are inspired by the world of nature, and in particular the four seasons. They employ the use of Canon's photographic and printing technology together with the traditional tools of the fine art painter. Canon technology is helping us to see the micro and macro worlds previously unavailable to us. This has deepened our understanding of the holistic interdependent biosphere that we inhabit and its connection to the rest of the universe.

These conceptual artworks were created to provide an interrelationship of Hugh O'Donnell's traditional painting techniques, botanical imagery, and in particular plantings at the new Canon Americas headquarters, as well as imagery from the natural world, poetry, bio-mimicry, and scientific references. Canon optical innovations and Canon equipment, including the Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR camera and various lenses, were used throughout.

The artworks have been developed to exploit the capacity of high definition digital optics. To this end, the materials and photographs used in the works were captured and composed to allow for large scale fine art mural printing in high definition on Canon printers. Photographic elements, with some exceptions, were shot by Hugh O'Donnell.