22.1 — 16.2 2016
Archipelago, Hordaland Kunstsenter
In her project entitled Moon Gazing, Kirsti van Hoegee investigates the stories linked to photography and astronomy. How has the development of photographies and telescopes influenced our relationship to the universe? How does the lack of a visibly starlit sky affect us? Will photographs taken in outer space reattach us with the universe?
Natural darkness is a decreasing phenomenon as the growth of our civilisation continues, and our need to light up the night is increasing. Large parts of the earth’s population are living in permanently lit cities, with no access to a clear and starlit sky. The Milky Way, once a natural part of the nocturnal experience, has been erased by electrical lighting. As the visible universe is being erased, we seem to gain an expanding access to images from outer space. The Hubble telescope offers images so spectacular that they seem difficult to even relate to. The moon is visible to the naked eye even at midday. The moon affects the tide, it is the source of our time system, and never seizes to amaze.
Moon Gazing consists of photographs depicting the moon, taken with a cell phone and through a telescope. The images are gathered in a calendar, which will gradually disintegrate as the exhibition visitors bring home a moon on each new day.
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Archipelago is a small, flexible platform for showing individual works and installations in a focused but open environment. Located on the ground floor of Hordaland kunstsenter, adjacent to a larger, more formal exhibition space, archipelago works with the constraint of limited physical space in order to explore the changing modalities of artworks in the age of virtual space. Archipelago is programmed with short lead times for each new project, with the intention of reinserting curatorial agility and real-time engagement into the institution. This initiative follows a different schedule to Hordaland kunstsenter’s main exhibition programme, and is conceived as a group of ‘thought islands’ appearing in time. These manifestations will be mapped in Hordaland kunstsenter’s website, and will also be periodically surveyed through public conversations and other events.
