'Redshift' blends James Webb Space Telescope, Artemis 2 and Pink Floyd into a cosmic journey through light and sound (video, photos)

On May 22 at Heft Gallery in New York City, "Redshift" transformed a gallery space into an existential experience for an intimate audience. The immersive audiovisual performance, created by artist Ashley Zelinskie and DJ/Producer illich Mujica, blended live electronic music, custom-coded visuals, NASA-inspired imagery and spoken-word narration into a cosmic ride through light and sound themselves. The sold-out event opened with a listening session of NASA's Golden Record — the message launched aboard the interstellar Voyager probe in 1977 to offer a slice of Earth to any intelligent life that might encounter it. Played through the "Volumes" listening system designed by Joe Doucet, the opening moments set the tone for a performance rooted in science, art and wonder. "Redshift" performance at Heft Gallery in New York City on May 22, 2026. (Image credit: Artem Belov (@art.photo.usa)) Drawing heavily from imagery captured by the James Webb Space Telescope , Zelinskie's visuals, projected on a wall of the gallery, shifted through wavelengths of light to simulate the astronomical phenomenon of redshift — the stretching of light across space and time. Mujica's live audio performance moved alongside the stunning visualizations, weaving together ambient electronica, psychedelic rock, and NASA-inspired spoken word samples to deliver a psychedelic event that was meditative and hypnotic at times. …