spaceship

  • expérimenter

spaceship

2018

 

I Spaceship for O I is a fictional work based on the invention of a new type of space shuttle.

It is both: a singular rocket to get into space;

It is a vertical take-off and landing space rocket with different stages replaced by “technological” capsules connected to a central column dedicated to their circulation and interconnection.  Each capsule has a particular function, and this structuring makes it possible to change the shuttle easily.

an extra-terrestrial life base.

Once it has landed at its destination, the capsules around the edge of the space rocket are deployed in a corolla to form a camp.  They are organised in a round of concentric functionalities.

The lighting capsules spread around the edge of the camp (use of lighted panels disseminating shaded light), then the transmission capsules exchange data with the earth (technical capsules with a tuft of parabolas of different sizes oriented all around).  Then the circle of vegetal capsules are used to create the breathing oxygen the crew needs (the trees brought on board are all different).

And the life capsules alternate with water-farming food production capsules.

These capsules are all fitted with photovoltaic cells (translucent honeycomb network) for energy autonomy, manufactured with a revolutionary printing process making it possible to print both in colour and in relief.

Project genesis

The first idea I had was to bring a scenario to life up to creation of a schematic downscale model (1:25).  The digital printout is presented by stepping back from reality.  The storytelling magnifies the containers that become the high-added-value capsules.

Right away, I thought the bottle should not be right side up; and, turning it over, we have the empty space.  It becomes a space for holding dreams…

This capsule notion is important for project consistency.  We do not decorate but encapsulate, achieving another level of reality.  Symbolically, we do not act on floor space but go further than that.

Concerning the space capsule, in a text entitled “Existing in the capsule”, Ségolène Guinard asserts it comes as a place where a mode of existence is crystallised.

A capsule is any place where the enclosure is a vital need for its inhabitant.  The capsule technique comes as a biological requirement, allowing the survival of the inhabitant in a medium that otherwise imperils it.

The story bypasses the scientific space research codes in order to measure up to the innovation that digital printing represents, since the shuttle’s various parts have different functions showing the wealth of possible printings.  We act on the various opacities and add relief to give a sophisticated representation where the symbolisation of the container is superimposed on the representation of the content, as can be seen for the capsules around the edge of the spaceship.

The various capsules are all different:  some have hand drawings, while others have images, diagrams, shading…. This diversity is wanted in order to show the performance of the printout and meet the original representation.  They can be juxtaposed by the story they tell.

For many long years, I have loved to create what I call “soft fictions”, a genre that, like science fiction, makes it possible to create parallel worlds or reasoning, but avoiding dystopias.  What we are doing here is to refer to existing codes – those of the conquest of space – but making a personal, imaginary story of them.  The idea is to think out life on board for longer flights, already enormously modifying the concept of spaceships.

This project is a wink to the designer Galina Balashova, an interior designer pioneer, who created the interiors of the Soviet Soyuz and Mir space station.  She gave solutions to the problems of positioning and proportions in space by proposing colours for orientation:  green for the floors, yellow walls….

In a way, it was also she who caused the need to go further than the technical aspect (imposed at the time by scientists and engineers) by thinking more about the practicality of confined but also aesthetic spaces.

 

Share

Credits

  • O I