Ever feel the need to get away?
Perhaps, to a galaxy far, far away?
Michiganders did just that this past Saturday, May 4. Every year for two weekends a warehouse in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood gets converted into a Star Wars universe. A small army of do-it-yourself artists, makers, and fun-seekers transform a half-block of space into, well, outer space.
The detail is otherworldly – streetscapes closely resembling Tatooine (otherwise known as Luke Skywalker’s home planet), stucco storefronts, dust-covered tents, and cosplay Mandalorian bounty hunters decked with helmets, breastplates, and blaster pistols.
Throughout the marketplace are various goods, including ceramics by Grand Rapids artist Eric Heerspink. It’s his third year being a part of the event, but he's been a Star Wars fan since the sixth grade. While his ceramics at Space Dive reflect the universe, he didn’t really think about letting the lore influence him until a professor suggested it.
“About 12 years ago, one of my professors said, ‘You know, you're watching Star Wars every day in the studio, right?’ [. . .]” Heerspink said. “‘So, you obviously love this.’ He goes, ‘You need to start letting it influence, you know the work that you're making.’”
Heerspink said he didn’t think his professor expected him to go this deep into the roman-fleuve, but now all of his work has influences of the saga characters and planets. His ceramics have color palettes inspired by specific characters and terrains and languages/words of the rebel base, which are different on every ceramic.
The warehouse also includes replicas of pivotal moments in the chronicle, such as the bar on Tatooine where Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi, his mentor, go to hire a cocky Corellian smuggler named Han Solo from the 1977 movie Star Wars: A New Hope.
From the dim alcoves lining the walls, to the tarnished, dented, distilling system behind the bar and glasses of pale blue milk slung across the counter to a colorful crowd of thirsty customers, this was nothing like cofounders John Dunivant and Daniel Land expected Space Dive to initially turn out.
“Originally, it was only supposed to be the Cantina, but it was so much fun, and there was such an incredible reaction to it, that it was hard not to just keep going,” Dunivant said. “And now, it's gotten out of hand.”
The seed for this started in 2015, when Dunivant and Land thought there had to be a way to take May the 4th events a step further. Before they knew it, the crew grew exponentially.
“It started off as just a group of friends, and then, more friends joined in, and then, the people that would like [to] come to the event,” Dunivant said.
Land believes the reason people resonate with the stories is because of the hero’s journey, a literary technique describing the multi-step journey a hero takes in a story, escapism, and the fact that this could be a recognizable future.
“It's dirty,” Land said. “It's lived in. There's people kind of trying to scrape by and make do under an oppressive, totalitarian, fascist government and there's a revolution brewing.”
Space Dive takes place early May every year at the Tangent Gallery, generally around May 4. There are still tickets available for this weekend’s events.
Star Wars attire is mandatory, as declared by the Empire.
Hear the full conversation with Eric Heerspink, John Dunivant, and Daniel Land the Stateside podcast.
