Seeing
2018. On going
The reality is no longer limited to the visible and once we postulate the existence of something that is not necessarily tangible or perceptible, we invent systems and tools to reveal this intuition.
The Plasma is a state of matter whose dynamics coincide almost with chaos. One of the few visible manifestations on Earth is situated in the ionosphere; the last layer of the atmosphere, after which the immensity is revealed. In this rarefied and porous air, the interaction between solar winds and magnetic fields generates luminous forms. Zones that we previously considered as empty blaze, create floating colored spaces with fuzzy and fleeing outlines to finally disappear.
One of the fundamental steps of the radio astronomer’s work is to translate the electromagnetic signals invisible to the eye into an image. The «space» of the signals must cope with a whole series of deformations and alterations of information such as atmospheric turbulence, gravitational mirages, redshift or low angular resolution. And to solve these problems, the transformation of data into images and the gain in resolution is entrusted to powerful software and algorithms. Only certain areas remain unclear, black and impenetrable. Then, scientists fill these gaps in an image that didn’t exist until now, with their own interpretation.
The elements that I present (recolted during a residence at the RadioAstronomy Observatory of Nancay and in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou) are composed of archives and documentary sources, with a series of altered, modified images whose medium is diverted, transcribed, erased in order to question its status: how to look without believing?