Beyond the Horizon: Polestar collaborates with artist Justin Ridler for Sydney Contemporary
Exhibited alongside Polestar 4 at this year’s Sydney Contemporary, Melbourne artist Justin Ridler’s work captures the anti-twilight arch - a unique natural phenomenon where the Earth’s shadow becomes visible, cast into space as twilight approaches.
I was drawn to the sense of enormity: the long journey, the fleeting opportunity to witness the Earth’s own momentum made visible.
Justin Ridler is an image-maker working at the convergence of photography, digital art, and immersive film making. He has exhibited in New York, Sydney, and Melbourne, where he is currently based. His practice bridges the virtual and physical, blending traditional photographic techniques with motion capture, CGI, and real-time rendering to create evocative, emotionally charged visual worlds.
Beyond the Horizon features two epic panoramic landscapes, Anti-Twilight Arch I and Anti-Twilight Arch II. When conceiving the project, Justin was inspired by two key features of Polestar 4. The wide framing and digital enhancement of the photography was inspired by the cutting-edge rear-view camera and the celestial subject matter was influenced by the quiet ambience of the solar-system inspired interior.
Light, landscape, movement and time
This project was a rare opportunity for Justin to step outside the studio and into a slower, more contemplative rhythm. He travelled to Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake on Boorong Country in Northern Victoria, where over several days he photographed the antitwilight arch - a projection of the Earth's shadow into space. A fleeting, atmospheric phenomenon that exists at the edge of visibility. “The experience became a kind of meditation,” says Justin of his experience. “The arch is easy to miss, appearing only in perfect conditions and only for a few minutes.”
“It stands in quiet contrast to the speed and saturation of contemporary visual culture, offering me space away from the terminal velocity of my technology-focused work, allowing me to reconnect with the fundamentals that gave rise to my early practice: light, landscape, movement and time.”
For Justin, the artwork “stands in quiet contrast to the speed and saturation of contemporary visual culture, offering me space away from the terminal velocity of my technology-focused work, allowing me to reconnect with the fundamentals that gave rise to my early practice: light, landscape, movement and time.”
Polestar’s collaboration with Justin Ridler is proudly exhibited alongside vibrant, ambitious, and progressive art from emerging and established artists at Sydney Contemporary.
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