Tomas Saraceno dreams of feasible utopia

Argentinian artist Tomas Saraceno's "Our Interplanetary Bodies" is on display at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju. / Courtesy of Asia Culture Center

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Argentinian artist Tomas Saraceno unravels his artistic approach toward a utopian future through interactive installations and floating sculptures at the Asia Culture Center (ACC) in the southern city of Gwangju.

Titled "Our Interplanetary Bodies," the exhibit explores Saraceno's longtime interest in three ecologies ― environmental, social and mental. This is Saraceno's first solo exhibit in Korea and ACC Creation artistic director Kim Sung-won curated the exhibition.

The ACC commissioned Saraceno to come up with works designed especially for the ACC's Space 1, a 16-meter-high exhibition venue.

The namesake centerpiece of the exhibit consists of nine interdependent floating spheres.

The spheres come from Saraceno's long-term project "Aerocene," which are made buoyant by solar heat. Though it borrows shapes from the Aerocene, the indoor sculptures are tied to each other and create a galactic system within the exhibition hall.

An abstract moving image is projected on the other wall, which is 22 meters wide and 11.5 meters high. The projection is a live broadcast of cosmic dust particles moving around the exhibition space, captured by Saraceno's intricate machine, capturing the velocity and size of the particles and converting the data into musical notes through an algorithm.

Tomas Saraceno's "Arachno Concert With Arachne (Nephila senegalensis), Cosmic Dust(Porus Chondrite) and the Breathing Ensemble" / Courtesy of the artist

While listening and watching the movements of cosmic dust, visitors will encounter a spider spinning a cobweb. This is a part of the work, reflecting Saraceno's interest in the arthropod. The spider contributes to the soundscape by delivering the dust trajectories through a transducer and making plucking sounds.

"Inviting living and non-living agents to improvise an audible composition, Our Interplanetary Bodies posit a different, heterotopic space for a dialogue between its element," curator Kim said.

Initially trained as an architect, Saraceno's imagination knows no limits. He revolutionizes the concept of utopian future in a down-to-earth way. He visualizes social, ecological and futurological issues in collaboration with space scientists, astrophysicists, biologists and arachnologists.

Kim explained that Saraceno's works begin from questioning about the future that most people feel is distant.

"Saraceno is one step ahead and thinks about where we will live in the future and how we will live in future society. His works suggest the ideal future world, where people freely move around without regulations and fossil fuels," Kim explained. "He redefined the idea of borders and in the future shaped by Saraceno, people move around in the Aerocene and live in floating Cloud Cities."

Tomas Saraceno demonstrates "Aerocene," an air-filled floating sphere powered by heat and wind at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju, Friday. / Yonhap

Free flight without fossil fuel

Excited for the opening of his Gwangju exhibit, Saraceno volunteered to demonstrate "Aerocene," air-filled floating spheres powered by heat and wind.

"Aerocene" is basically a large balloon made of plastic bags, folded and enclosed in a backpack. The balloon is inflatable without a pump and when filled with enough air, it becomes buoyant only by the heat of the sun in the day and infrared radiation from the Earth at night.

"There is a very practical manual, so anyone can use Aerocene," Saraceno said. "If it keeps growing and there's more volume of air, it can lift people."

Indeed, a type of Aerocene successfully carried passengers without fossil fuel energy for nearly three hours and holds the record for the longest flight without fossil fuel.

"Currently, floating in the air is dominated by the regime of fossil fuel and the Aerocene can bring us independence from fossil fuel," the artist said.

The Aerocene's trajectories are not in a straight line, but it constantly moves up and down as the sun rises and sets and the wind blows. "This floating trajectory is related to sustainability, unlike fossil fuel-powered airplanes flying straightforward," the artist said.

The Aerocene backpack is placed at the end of the exhibit and those who want to take part in flying the sculpture can take the backpack out under the guidance of the staff.

He also developed the "Cloud Cities" series, which is expanded from the concept of the Aerocene. It consists of city modules floating above the clouds, redefining the idea of national borders.

"The Cloud Cities are not anthropocentric, but other life forms co-exist and interact with each other," Saraceno said.

"It incorporates Saraceno's vision for future dwellings, based on elemental, planetary energy, rather than a dependence on fossil fuels," curator Kim said.

The exhibit runs until March 25, 2018. Admission is 7,000 won for all exhibitions at ACC. For more information, visit acc.go.kr or call 1899-5566.