#Projcet work
Newspace Spectacles
(2022~)
This work, "NewSpace Spectacles" analyzes the images that Newspace industries present to the public. What was once a fantastical notion of surpassing the atmosphere became more visible in the 2010s with the rise of international and economic issues related to space. However, the nature of the images that the public consumes has become ambiguous. These images visualize a place everyone knows about but hasn't visited—a blend of science and myth. With technological advancements, these images are produced in finer detail and consumed regardless of their authenticity. This work aims to explore two main points. First, the history of the space industry. Second, the effectiveness of contemporary photographic images as a medium. The central theme is Space X's 2016 announcement of 'Interplanetary Transport System(Mars colonization project)', which has given humanity a new future. I have created photos, 3D models, and videos depicting Mars landscapes, elements humans need to adapt to for life on Mars, and how modern space industry and technology images are consumed by the public. By comparing state and corporate industries and collecting events from different eras to highlight irony, I focus on the period where visual progress has outpaced technological progress. This things to explore the typical characteristics of space images.
script
Like many children, I loved space from a young age. The vast emptiness of space sparked my curiosity and imagination. In 2016, I read an article about Space X’s 'Interplanetary Transport System(Mars colonization project)', which challenged what I thought I knew about space. This led me to start researching. The work aims to explore two main areas. First, the history of the space industry. Second, the effectiveness of modern photographic images as a medium.
From a historical perspective, it's important to look at the early goals of the space industry, its periods of inactivity, and the recent rapid developments. The images also play a crucial role as they connect the public with space. Today’s space industry uses stunning and grand photos to inspire awe and desire among people. I collect and create images through various methods to explore the typical characteristics of space spectacles that the public consumes, revealing the hidden ironies in the process.
I created images similar to those provided by institutions or companies. These include actual photos of Mars, photos taken in Mars-like environments, computer-generated Mars images, and personifications of the nine elements humans need to survive in space. I visited space-related institutions, companies, and tourist sites to collect images directly, and also created images through staging and digital composition. I listed various space-related themes—space industry, data, tourism, commerce, conspiracy theories, astronomy—to create a sequence that resembles a space journey. Each photo in this journey covers aspects like technological hype, glorious failures, scenarios far from real development, budget issues, exaggerated visual effects, and the distortions of time and space that photos don’t show.
Through this work and research, I quickly realized that technological progress in the space industry is slower than visual progress. Experts I consulted said that technological development in the space industry is progressing steadily. However, the space images consumed by the public in recent years suggest rapid technological advancements. This is because the new space industry is driven by capital, and companies need to establish a strong presence. To do this, they produce not only photos but also photo-like images in large quantities. In the past 2-3 years, AI and modeling technologies have advanced to make these images appear more realistic than reality itself, overshadowing the authenticity of photographs. High-tech industries have eagerly adopted this technology, and the image-dependent public is left uncertain in their judgments.
