Eclipse of Aerocene Explorer, 2016 (on the wall)

Inkjet print

The photograph was taken during the performance at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia in January 2016, during Tomás Saraceno’s artistic expedition. Salar de Uyuni salt flat is estimated to be the biggest lithium depository in Earth. Atop of the Uyuni salt crust, the Aerocene sculptures floated proposing to keep the natural resources in the ground, and to relate to energy cycles differently: harnessing Sun and Earth as the sole batteries.

Sunny Day, 2017

Mylar transparent and metalized, tape, pump with overpressure release valve, polyester rope, net, metal ring

The inflatable structures that make up the installation communicate a new way of flying, one that relies only on the difference in temperature between inside and outside the sculpture, heated only by the sun and the infrared radiation of the Earth. Floating like this provides an alternative to the linear vector flight of propulsion technology, replacing it with sympoetic choreography. 

Museo Aero Solar, 2007–ongoing

Reused plastic bags, ventilator, tape, polyester rope, fabric

The work is a flying museum, a solar sculpture entirely made from reused plastic bags, with new sections being added each time it travels the world, thus changing techniques, drawings, and shapes, and growing in size every time it sets sail in the air. Museo Aero Solar stands for a different conception of space and energy, both anomalous and forceful at the same time. 

Photo © Andrea Rossetti