“When he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine, that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.” -William Shakespeare
Cats and dogs are known to be one of humanity’s best companions. For animal guardians, pets play an important role in their lives. Studies have shown owning a pet helps anxiety, depression, stress, lowers blood pressure, and regulates heart rate. As is true with any relationship, some human-pet relationships are likely to be more rewarding than others. Some people are more attached to their pets than others and those feelings could influence the impact of the pet on the person’s health and life.
As for me, I am a cat person. I always have been. I used to beg my parents to let me adopt a cat. I remember walking the alleyways of Tehran, finding abandoned kittens, and bringing them back home with me. However, my parents were always against me for keeping them. Now that I am older, I am capable of taking care of my own friends. I adopted two cats during my college years. One of them was a kitten, and the other was an eight year old rescue from an animal shelter.
My furry friend Margo was my soul mate; my best friend. Every morning and night I would wake up and go to sleep to her cuddles and kisses. We spent six wonderful years together and made many memories. However as coincidence would have it, on 5/26 in 2016 at 5:26am I had to put her down. She was suffering from kidney and liver failure. I was heartbroken and sad that I couldn’t save her. But I knew she would always be with me. She was the light of my life. Now she shows me the light when I am in the dark. During my process of mourning, I am releasing that energy through art. She is my inspiration for this project.
Space Cats will be an art installation placed in deep playa hopefully by trash fence at Burning Man for the wanderers, the lost ones, and adventurers to come across. It will be a 7ft x4ft rocket ship illuminated with solar lights with three catsronauts standing outside of it. With one holding a sign saying they are here for daft punk (Biggest inside joke at the festival).
All three catstronauts will be named after three of my lost feline friends.Floyd, who was my roommate’s cat in college who slept every night with me when we lived together. He died in a tragic accident. He was crushed by large furniture in the kitchen. Q, who I cat-sitted for quite sometime, died in her sleep shortly after I lost my little lady. And last My Margo, who had promised she would live forever but was eager to explore the stars.
This is a dedication to all those who had to say goodbye to their friends, and to all the furry friends who are now up in the stars. On one of the rings on the rocket will have an engraving that says " They will not go quietly, the pets who've shared our lives. In subtle ways they let us know, their spirit still survives". And on another ring, it will have engraved names of our missed friends (ask how you can add your pets name). On the last day of the burn, the ring with the names will be taken to temple, where it can burn alongside with everybody else's losses and let go's.
Budget listing
Catstronauts:
3 Mannequin's x $60 = $180
3 Dome Helmets x $40 = $120
3 Bucket for helmet collar x $4 = $16
3 space wear x $38 = $114
3 space gloves x boots x $43 = $129
3 cat tails x $20 = $60
TOTAL for catstronauts : $619.00
Rocketship:
8 sheets of 3/4 plywood x $50 = $400
Lighting:
Investing in Solar lighting for both rocket ship and catstronauts : $800
Transportation:
$452
(-125 for 5% for indiegogo.com)
Misc:
$104
Total Budget : $2,375 (+125) = $2,500