The work of art Star Track was designed for the new residential area Oostergast in the municipality of Zuidhorn. All the streets in the district are named after stars that can be seen from Zuidhorn in the northern sky. The work of art Star Track serves as an observatory and makes the locations of these stars visible in the sky.
On the two large grass fields – between the green ash trees – that cut through the neighborhood from north to south are two realistically sculpted human figures on high pillars sharply silhouetted against the sky.
The two figures point to the sky above them. As one walks on the path that connects the two sculptures, one passes a trail of markers set into the path.
On these markers are the names of the stars the neighborhood’s streets are named after. Standing on one of the markers at a specific time, one will see the human figure pointing out in the sky the exact location of the star named on that marker. The specific times change from day to day and are indicated by the astronomy map that is centrally located on the path between the two sculptures. In this manner, all 16 stars that the streets are named after have their own mark.
In cooperation with the Astronomical Institute van de RUG, the correct placement of the markers was calculated and the whole art work/observatory was developed by means of a scale model built in its environment. The path with the markers connects the sculptures to create a fascinating work of art and an observatory with which one can discover the location of the stars after which the streets are named.