Greetings
The recent flurry of space flights by private enterprises has sparked a public conversation about why humans are compelled to venture beyond Earth. Is it for science, for profit, for prestige? Is it for the profound experience of floating in nothingness and looking back at our own planet? The topic of space exploration has inspired many of our SETI AIRs to examine the cultural context, ecological impact, and philosophical framework of our “race into space.” In this edition of SETI AIR News, discover how Xin Liu entangles the technological, cultural, and political narratives of the new Space Age, why Brittany Nelson anthropomorphizes the Opportunity Mars rover, and how Jonathon Keats turns unsuspecting locals in a small Italian town into human-alien hybrids.
Wherever your travels take you this month, I wish you clear skies!
Bettina
Artist Spotlight
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SETI Artist in Residence Xin Liu
Xin Liu is the Arts Curator in the MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative, a member of New INC in the New Museum and a resident in the Queens Museum Artist Studio program. During her SETI AIR program residency she is exploring how Life and time are suspended in frozen water. Xin is currently presenting her first solo exhibition in her native China.
The Ground is Falling
Solo exhibition of artist Xin Liu, curated by Long Xing
Aranya Art Center, Qinhuangdao City, China
September 26, 2021 - January 6, 2022
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Xin Liu’s artistic practice is situated on the boundary between celestial objects, experiences of deep space, [and] the cosmic ecosystem. With this exhibition, Liu constructs three narrative threads that run through the exhibition space: a potato seed that was transported to the International Space Station via manned space flight, an anonymous “white stone” from the sky, and a series of satellite signals radiating between the Earth’s orbit and surface. ~Iris Long
Watch SETI AIR
SETI LIVE:
SETI Live: 10,000 Light Years From Home
SETI Artist in Residence Brittany Nelson uses 19th century photographic chemistry techniques to address themes of queer and feminist science fiction..
SETI AIR Artist News & Events
Art project creates 'human-alien hybrids' with meteorite-infused water
Review of Jonathon Keats’ project Fountains of Tolerance in Space.com
Free Digital Catalogue
The artist collective Interspecifics are offering a free digital catalogue of their project Codex Virtualis Genesis. Download it here:
NFT Culture Proof
Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern
Launching November 9, 2021, this project is a participatory performance on the Blockchain that will result in a collective artwork and crypto-native NFT series. More info here:
