Nasa-commissioned print unveiled for exhibition

A piece of artwork by a Yorkshire artist, originally commissioned by Nasa during the dawn of space exploration, is being featured in a new pop art exhibition. The work, titled Komtek I by Michael Fossick, is currently on display at Cartwright Hall as part of an exhibition highlighting the British International Print Biennale.

Fossick, an alumnus of Bradford School of Art, produced the print in 1962 to commemorate a Hong Kong firm that manufactured microcomputers during the early space race. The exhibition, which showcases the legacy of the Biennale held at the Bradford gallery 11 times from 1968 to 1990, is scheduled to run until March 2027.

The collection includes pieces by prominent figures such as David Hockney and Andy Warhol. Curator Jill Iredale noted that the display features items that are likely new to the public, adding that it is a "completely bizarre sort of connection somehow that an artist born in Sheffield that went to Bradford School of Art was somehow commissioned by Nasa."

In March 1962, Nasa administrator James Webb selected 38 artists, including Fossick, to record the space agency's milestones. This initiative followed the achievement of John H. Glenn, who became the first American to orbit the earth on 20 February 1962. The work of these artists documented the Mercury programme, which paved the way for the Apollo missions and the 1969 moon landing by Neil Armstrong.

Reflecting on the technical nature of the piece, Iredale stated, "It was actually a screen print, but it was made from a very early computerised image." Fossick had used his commission to highlight Komtek I, a microcomputer from Komtek Technologies Ltd in Hong Kong that played a notable role in early space programme efforts. The print was subsequently entered into the First British International Print Biennale in 1968, where it was awarded a prize.