Gazing at the stars – Fotografiska opens a major space exhibition
As autumn approaches, Fotografiska turns its gaze to the starry sky and presents a major exhibition “SPACE – a visual journey”, which offers an engaging experience for visitors of all ages. The exhibition brings together art and science at the edge of the sky, and research and artistic creation intertwine – the power of the universe is captured through the eyes of astronomers and through the interpretations of artists. The 14 authors’ approach raises big questions: who are we in this eternal world and who is even allowed to dream about the future?
The large-scale group exhibition opens on 13 September and brings together internationally renowned artists, including scientists and engineers, as well as those who are themselves involved in preparing for real space travel. For example, Michael Najjar (Germany) is set to fly into space as a future Virgin Galactic astronaut next year. Najjar’s art is also based on real technological advances and collaborations with space agencies, astronauts and scientists. Artist Rhiannon Adam (Ireland) was chosen as the only woman to participate in Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa’s SpaceX project, which was supposed to take civilians into lunar orbit for the first time – until now, only American men have experienced this view, but Adam would have been the first woman in lunar orbit. The project was unexpectedly canceled last year. Years of preparation for space travel and its unexpected cancellation are recorded in an award-winning art project that raises the socially critical question – who is allowed to dream about the future anyway? The exhibition also features prominent Swedish artist Cecilia Ömalm and astronomer and researcher at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Göran Östlin, who present a joint artistic-scientific project. Engineer-educated multi-artist Mikael Owunna (Nigeria/USA), on the other hand, explores the intersections of science, art, and African cosmologies. Slovenian artist Matjaž Tančič has documented people living in a desert simulating Mars conditions in preparation for a future trip to the red planet.
Among the 14 artists is Estonian Ivar Veermäe, whose multi-part project includes both a video on nuclear fusion and a photo series of the Sun, which has been altered by biological processes to explore the impact of microscopic life on the image surface. Finnish artist Petri Eskelinen’s video works, on the other hand, play on the border between science fiction and scientific fact, highlighting in artistic form a topical question in space exploration: if we want to go to space, we need to take plants with us and figure out how to grow them in zero gravity.
Maarja Loorents, co-founder and exhibition manager of Fotografiska Tallinn, describes it as Fotografiska’s most technologically extensive exhibition to date, and is also perfect for visiting with the family: “The Space Exhibition features a variety of works offering diverse experiences and special installations created especially for the exhibition, as well as plenty of exciting reading material on both history and modern space exploration. The hall also features an interactive, artificial intelligence-powered Reflection Station, which presents visitors with age-appropriate questions to ponder and helps them better understand what they have experienced at the exhibition.”
You can virtually take a peek at the exhibition via Fotografiska’s space portal, where you can find chapters on the relationship between humanity and the universe, conversations with artists, and cosmic music.
The opening of the Space Exhibition will bring several special events to Fotografiska.
On Friday, September 12th at 8pm, Fotografiska will host a big space-themed party as part of its Friday Night Zone, which will open the doors of the exhibition hall. The party will continue starting at 10pm on the 6th floor of Fotografiska, where, among other things, Sander Möldr, Muudu and Kostja’s new cosmic single will be presented.
From Saturday, September 13th, the exhibition will be open to the public with a regular ticket, and at 1pm there will be a curatorial tour with the exhibition artists. At 2.30pm, you can listen to Michael Najjar talk about his crazy and captivating journey from art to space.
On Monday, September 15, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM, there will be two public podcast recordings: the guests will be artist Mackenzie Calle, whose work offers a counter-narrative to the history of the astronaut program and depicts a diverse and inclusive space future, and space expert Andreas Veispak, former head of European space initiatives at the European Commission.
On Sunday, September 28, Fotografiska will host a family festival – an all-day event that offers fun astro adventures for both big and small explorers. On November 2, Fotografiska will host a space-themed TEDxTallinn, this time with the beautiful Võru title “Kõgõkogo” and featuring a number of artists from the exhibition.
You can read more about the exhibition and the other artists on the Fotografiska website.
