The mystery that envelops the creation and the existence of the Universe for how – so little – we know it, has over the centuries attracted the intellect and the imagination of people of all ethnic groups and religions. In the complex history of humans on the planet, the sky before and the entire Universe have been subjects of great importance under the manifold aspects of human interest. If even today, communication between terrestrial people is often complicated, hampered by the limits of each culture as to which a living being ends up belonging, how could it ever be possible to communicate with that “something” that isn’t terrestrial? This installation by the Parisian artist Flavien Théry seems inspired by this theme. With his work he launches a nostalgic look at the utopia of the space age that has characterised the past decades. It consists of two “disks”, the celestial planispheres of the two terrestrial hemispheres on which magnets draw the main stars and constellations visible respectively from the southern and northern hemispheres. Each disk can rotate on itself, while a sensor arm, like an old vinyl needle, “reads” the magnets, or rather, “reads the stars” of the known universe. In this way it can send sound signals to the public. The viewer is placed in the listening condition and is left free to modify the synthesiser’s parameters, thus allowing them infinite variations and interpretations of the sound of the “message”: the romantic illusion that the Universe speaks to each of us and the infinite responsibility that this could entail. Benedetta Sabatini

 

Flavien Théry – Messenger