Painter completes zero-G artwork

[Dover]

Painter completes zero-G artwork

By Neil Smith
BBC News entertainment reporter


British painter Nasser Azam has said he is "ecstatic" after completing two sets of artwork in zero gravity.

The 44-year-old climbed 23,000 feet in a specially modified plane to work on two large triptychs while weightless.

The flight took a series of dramatic climbs and dives that allowed Azam to experience short bursts of "zero-G".

"It far exceeded my expectations," he told the BBC News website from the Russian cosmonaut facility Star City, north-east of Moscow.

"The biggest apprehension was that I would fall ill and wouldn't be able to do anything.

..snip..

The prospect of the pieces fetching a sky-high price, however, has not enticed him to put them on the market.

Azam, who until recently was chief operating officer at investment bank Merrill Lynch, said he is contemplating a follow-up expedition to Antarctica.

"But that would be a much longer trip," he adds. "I don't know if we'd be able to be in such cold weather for two weeks." ..cont'd

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7498064.stm



Link to video of painting sessions in space: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7496688.stm