once & hopeful stars is a solo exhibition by George Ferrandi and features illuminated star sculptures from her Jump!Star initiative. 

A slight wobble in the planet’s rotation known as Axial Precession causes the alignment of the stars above our polar axis to change slowly over time. The 26,000-year cycle traced by the polar axis is referred to in a terrific understatement as The Great Year. Over the course of The Great Year, eleven celestial bodies will serve as Earth’s North Star. Each of these past and future Pole Stars is brought to life with the ceremonial sculptures of Jump!Star. 

The culminating performance of these sculptures, with the communities that helped build them, was to premiere on June 15, 2019, in conjunction with an annual music festival in the Flint Hills of Kansas. A few hours before the performance, a tornado ripped through the site, destroying most structures and canceling the event. Miraculously, the Jump!Star tent and all the delicate paper sculptures survived. Other than collaborators and a handful of friends who pushed past security, no one has seen these pieces in person before now.

once & hopeful stars is presented in conjunction with Yours & Mine, an exhibition of works by Joe Seipel, on view at the Anderson Gallery from August 20 - September 28 and is supported in part by Richard and Susan Roth.