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ECHOES OF LEVITATION
2023
Ultrasound, water drops harvested from leaves in of cloud forest, ultrasonic transducer , wood
Public Space is a public space intervention that highlights the current legal status of the Moon and other celestial bodies as “not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means,” as established by the Outer Space Treaty. Drawing from space law treaties that declare celestial bodies as the common heritage of humanity, the work raises questions about property and ownership as the race toward space colonization accelerates.
Language and text are explored both in their semantic layers and material presence. The animated composition treats words as a fluctuating force—a luminous substance that takes shape as geometries and lines interacting with the façade of the Doane Observatory. As phrases from space law emerge, they morph into abstract forms, at times evoking the silhouette of the Chicago skyline visible from the site.
The work interrogates how our perception of the cosmos—long associated with the unknown, the poetic, the unconscious, and the sublime—shifts as celestial space becomes an extension of our earthly urban landscape.
By situating outer space as public space, the piece challenges the economic and political frameworks that underpin colonization—particularly those based on investment, privatization, and the promise of return on capital. As commercial interest in the space economy grows, many private actors are pressuring to reinterpret or bypass the Outer Space Treaty to allow property rights on the Moon and beyond.
Ultimately, Public Space expands our understanding of what constitutes public space, extending the conversation to the next frontier of human civilization.