The Planetario di Ravenna (Ravenna Planetarium) in Italy proudly unveiled one of its latest additions and it had nothing to do with the actual cosmos and everything to do with street art. On Sunday, the space theater held a dedication ceremony for “RVN_01,” a mosaic by Invader featuring the iconic tiled 8bit-character alongside a pixeled-out Spock.
The piece was officially commissioned in cooperation with the small Italian town’s cultural municipality. Based on his signature subjects and the fact that he launched one his pieces into space, the planetarium is a fitting place for the artist to execute a commission. It also turns out that Ravenna loves mosaics in general. Ravenna launched the International Festival of Mosaics in 2009.
Of course Invader couldn’t come to town and just stick with legit commissioned work. Around the time of the unveiling, 23 unofficial pieces have popped up around the town. That apparently has caused the local councilor to question the mayor’s judgement for inviting the famous titan-of-tiles. For the planetarium’s part, they seem to be thrilled, commenting on Invader’s Instagram: “We can proudly say that we like your work, thank you for coming to our city and feel free to come back anytime.” (Photos: Invader)
