Cosmograph: Speculative Tales for the New Space Age
MIT Museum, 2024
Project Team:
Rania Ghosn + El Hadi Jazairy
Rawan Al-Saffar, Ayusha Ariana, Garine Boghossian, Reid Fellenbaum, Monica Hutton, Kelly Koh, Meng-Fu Kuo, Hsin-Han (Victor) Lee, Anhong Li, Joude Mabsout, Avery Nguyen, Ranu Singh, Michael Stradley, Ya Suo, Jane Jia Weng, Sihao Xiong, Shuya Xu, Mingchuan Yang, Tianwei Yen, Bin Zhang
Celia Chaussabel (Coordination, 3D objects and booklet design), Lily Bartle (Editorial support)
Venue:
MIT Museum, Martin J. (1959) and Eleanor C. Gruber Gallery
Cambridge, MA
On view:
September 20, 2024 – January 25, 2026
Curator:
Ann Neumann
We are living at the dawn of a New Space Age. Matters of extraterrestrial exploration and exploitation are now the subject of financial speculation, with private companies determined to bring the natural resources of space into the commercial sphere. As outer space comes increasingly within reach of private gain, new legal, ethical, and spatial questions arise about its future: What are we going to do about space junk and extraterrestrial mining? How can designers relate to the vast scale of a cosmos where Halley's Comet takes 76 years to orbit the Sun? What are the environmental implications of the promises of engineering solutions to climate change?
Cosmograph: Speculative Tales for the New Space Age explores these questions from an artistic point of view. Integrating architectural design, drawing, and science, DESIGN EARTH uses the principles of “cosmography” — a term first used by the 19th-century explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt for the combined knowledge of geography, astronomy, and natural history — to create speculative narratives for the New Space Age. In four geostories, Neck of the Moon, Love Your Monsters, Cosmorama, and The Planet After Geoengineering, historical research and storytelling imagine futures that touch on managing space junk, weighing the promises of scientific exploration, navigating geopolitical boundaries, and living with the realities of climate change.
The exhibition juxtaposes large-scale drawings with a scene of objects: historical artifacts from the MIT Museum's collection or on loan, and fictional miniatures set to animate the narratives. In these pieces, the vast expanse of outer space is not only a subject for critique but also a fantasy language through which to experiment with new ideas for life on Earth.
Exhibition booklet: Download
Exhibition organized by the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) and the MIT Museum. Exhibition design: Studio Joseph.
Photos: Anna Olivella. Miniature objects photography: Adam DeTour
Click for more information about The Planet After Geoengineering, Cosmorama, Neck of the Moon and Love Your Monsters projects.