Transit of Earth

2022, video for LED mosaic, 46:31’, loop, no sound, 210 × 650 × 10 cm, edition of 3

(1 of 3, collection Kunstmuseum St. Gallen)

Transit of Earth is a video for a fragmented LED wall, reminiscent of a mosaic or puzzle with missing parts. Inspired by the fresco cycle lining the Salone dei Mesi (Room of the Months) in the Ferrarese Schifanoia Palace, the video consists of twelve monthly chapters. Each one corresponds to a zodiac sign, starting with Pisces. The stage is a transparent tunnel of cosmic filaments with the sun in the middle, traversed by the moon and the planets, textured with NASA projection maps. The solar model and tunnel are generated from animated fractal noise textures. Each month begins with the transit of the ruling planet, accompanied by the signs and colors of the related zodiac. Scenes of earthly activities that I once recorded in that month appear as short videos on an oscillating magnifying glass. The lines of a poem about the nature of light scroll across the LED, beginning with its creation, following both its outward dissemination and entry into the ocular portal, ending with the evocation of «a state of light pristine and un-seen.»