Paper short abstract:

'People will Miss the Earth' critiques the New Space Age's colonial rhetoric, delving into bio-regenerative technologies. The artistic research challenges the notion of colonial terraforming with 'sympoiesis,' looking at deep space as a realm for understanding our rootedness on Earth.

Paper long abstract:

My contribution will involve a discursive/performative presentation of my ongoing artistic research project, 'People Will Miss the Earth.' This project critically examines the contemporary colonial rhetoric of the New Space Age while simultaneously exploring alternative narratives for deep space and (inter)planetary relations through artistic practice.

Advocates of multi-planetary ideologies believe humans can replicate earthly ecosystems in extraterrestrial environments to colonize new planets, fostering synergy between techno-scientific research and plans for space colonial settlement. By examining scientific and anthropological experiments on life survival in extreme habitats, I aim to highlight the limitations of the New Space rhetoric.

Through the observation of the psychological effects of isolation in 'The Antarctic Gardener' (short film based in Antarctica, focusing on a BLSS facility) and the impact of zero gravity on plant organisms in 'Beyond Gravity' (ongoing installation), I inquire about the capability of artificial environments to provide the conditions necessary for life to thrive.

In my new project, 'The Sea Which is Our Universe,' I research Mars analog environments, juxtaposing the idea of colonial terraforming with the theory of "sympoiesis" in search of alternative practices of "worlding." Deep space becomes a realm for speculation about the essence of life and what makes it possible. Rather than viewing it as a territory to conquer, it becomes a space to increase awareness of our rootedness on Earth. By comparing ourselves with the alterity of an extraterrestrial environment, we can observe life as a result of a situated, unique relational system rather than artificially reproducible mechanical relations.