MoonStruck Photographic Explorations

Moonstruck Photographic Explorations

8 June/6 October 2019

Fotostiftung Schweiz, Winterthur, Switzerland

The Universe Makers has been selected to be part of the collective exhibition Moonstruck Photographic Explorations.

Curated by Sasha Renner

Space as a vast projection screen for technical fantasies, faith in progress, escapism and cultural critique is echoed in the collection of images The Universe Makers (2016 – 2018) by Bianca Salvo (Italy, born 1986). It explores the role that photography, technology, science fiction and other media play in shaping our vision of the universe. The installation brings together footage found in the archives with Salvo’s own staged photographs and collages. The artist directs the viewer’s attention to an underappreciated fact which is hinted at in the title of the work – historical images of cosmic worlds were primarily produced by NASA. When we look at the Moon, we see an American Moon. This is accompanied by a deliberate visual rhetoric – photography played a decisive role in securing support for American dominance in space. Judging by the media response, the Moon landing was one of the most successful PR campaigns of all time. Hence it has become virtually impossible to separate the information content of the images from their mythical and iconic aura. To the extent that they bear testimony to an event, they are also intrinsically imbued with the pageantry of their production. (Press Release 2019)