A miniature model of a boat in balsa wood. The sail is tissue paper gilded with fine 22 carat gold leaf. The single square-rigged sail indicates that the ship is a cog, once widely used in north-west medieval Europe.
This tiny ship is naïve, bold and determined.
This piece is inspired by the love poem A Valediction Forbidding Mourning written by John Donne in 1612. He wrote this love poem to his wife in England before his voyage to Europe. The poem assures us that two people who are physically separated will remain spiritually connected. The central simile of the piece is in the sixth stanza:
“Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to airy thinness beat.”
According to Donne, though the lovers are separated, their souls will expand like fine gold to maintain their connection across oceans.
“Like gold to airy thinness beat” evokes the fine solar sails which will soon carry new ships across the oceans of space. One day lovers will stand on separate worlds, and these sails will bridge the gulf between them. This is a model for how mankind’s expansion across space can be: the very best of us will expand across vast distances, and yet we can conquer the loneliness of space travel if we stay connected with our own souls and those of others.
Full Record Details

Launch date:
Launch mission:
Launch provider:
Launch location:
Launching state:
Launch vehicle COSPAR id:
19 Feb 2022
Antares 230+ / NG-17 Cygnus resupply mission
Northrop Grumman
Wallops Island, VA, USA
USA
2022-015A
Destination:
Host:
Host COSPAR id:
LEO, International Space Station (ISS)
International Space Station
1998-067A
Return date:
Return vehicle:
Landing Location:
Return vehicle COSPAR id:
Current status:
11 January 2023
Dragon CRS-26
Gulf of Mexico
2022-159A
Returned
Project partners:
Title:
Artist:
Date:
Medium:
Dimensions:
Genre:
IAAA art style:
Collection:
COSPAR id:
Like gold to airy thinness beat
Justin Donnelly
2022
Balsa wood, 22 carat gold leaf
1 x 1 x 1 cm
Sculpture
Moon Gallery
Are you the copyright holder of this artwork and do not wish to be included in this archive, then let us know by mail and we will remove your record.
Copyright Disclaimer: Exception to copyright for libraries, museums and archives. Copies for the preservation of cultural and scientific heritage: libraries, archives or museums can restore works or make digital copies of works in order to preserve and conserve them for future generations. More info here. This database and its content are protected. More info here. No copyright infringement intended.