The multimedia installation “Warm Silver Skies” combines video, sculpture and wall works. The exhibition incorporates Vall’s most recent reflections on the infinity of the universe and its exploration. It addresses the discrepancy between the impression of accessibility of outer space in our language and media representation and its actual distance, as well as the illusion that the exploration of space is a mere question of technological feasibility. The tension between the fascination for the infinite and its pragmatic utilization reveals human hubris: the conviction that distances can be overcome with ease and that the unimaginable can be made real through images. The works in the exhibition oscillate between these poles and pose questions about the perceptual spaces of science and art. The artist illuminates the connections between generative image creation and language as a formative element. The title of the exhibition “Warm Silver Skies” – a reference to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World – refers to the poetic power of word images. The works draw attention to the interface between science (fiction), speculative technological history and image theory and convey the tension between visions of the future and their potential pitfalls.

The work “Small Steps” shows the live transmission of the perspective of the Landsat 9 satellite on eight screens, manifesting a paradox of space travel: although the research is directed outwards, a large part of the attention is focused on the earth itself. Landsat 9 thus stands for a representation of earth observation and human influence that is constantly moving in orbit. The physical presence of the screen wall makes the juxtaposition with the planet physically tangible. The sculpture “Giant Leap” is a structure made of aluminum, glass and a technical system containing a toy Tesla coil that demonstrates the mechanism of wireless power transmission by making three light bulbs glow with high voltage. Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) developed this concept in the context of his experiments in wireless communication – a principle that lives on in today’s satellite and radio technologies. The five wall works in the exhibition bring together prints on aluminum based on digital mixed media. The enigmatic depictions raise the question of the authenticity of the image itself. They show hypothetical devices, space perspectives of rise and fall or a view of an alternative sky in which Tesla’s high-voltage technology has become the central infrastructure.

photos: Dirk Tacke