Context

Venus Chalk Drawing is a participatory performance led by Lily Hibberd in collaboration with artists Imogen Harrison and Tereza Janáková, commissioned for the Space Zone program of The Great Exhibition Road Festival 2024 in London, UK.

For this performance, the public were invited to draw the surface of Venus from colour reproductions of 35 paintings in Venus Project realised by Lily from Magellan radar images during the past two years.

Over two days in mid-June, people of all ages unleashed their visions of the planet Venus in an explosion of colour and creativity.



Banner photo and shadow selfie by Tereza Janáková.

Children drawing Venus. Photo by Lily Hibberd.

"Never had I seen such passion to draw Venus! Chalk really was the weapon we were waiting for, as it quickly spread the landscapes of our beloved planet across the entire Imperial courtyard. Never had Venus been more present in the university as it was during this activity … and everyone had so much fun!" - Gerard Gallardo i Peres, Imperial College PhD student researching Venus radar data.

Tereza Janáková with Gerard Gallardo i Peres and his drawing of Sappho Patera on Venus. Photo by Lily Hibberd.

Venus Chalk Drawing performance, 2024. Photos: Lily Hibberd, Imogen Harrison and Tereza Janáková.