For centuries, humans have looked at the stars with curiosity and wonder. In the past century, science and technology have made it possible for the first time to venture into the universe. For political world powers, this represented a new form of expansionism; for scientists, it marked a new quest for knowledge. Alongside the development of new technologies that enhance sensory perception—from telescopes and satellites to particle accelerators—humanity has also encountered their limitations. It is becoming increasingly clear that we cannot know everything. Most of the universe consists of dark matter and will remain unknown to us. Meanwhile, the climate crisis on Earth is becoming ever more urgent, shifting the desire to conquer space toward the pressing question of whether another planet exists where we might survive. Can we still find meaning in the face of so much uncertainty? Who are we as humans in this infinite universe, beyond the reach of our knowledge, experience, and language?

 

Kaat Van Doren
Kaat Van Doren’s artistic research largely revolves around the paradoxical relationship between humans and the sun. On the one hand, we long for a romantic sunset; on the other, the sky turns orange-red due to wildfires and other consequences of environmental pollution. Furthermore, the fossil fuels we consume have stored millions of years of sunlight deep within the Earth.

 

Wesley Meuris
Wesley Meuris analyzes the structures, methods, instruments, and language of science, juxtaposing them with sensory and material reality. By paraphrasing and placing these elements in an artistic context, he exposes their ambiguity: are scientific facts and natural laws as fixed as they seem? Or is there room for doubt and uncertainties, for complexity and dialogue?

 

In Out of Orbit, both artists take as their starting point the loss of gravity in space. Like astrophysicists, they shift their gaze between Earth and the universe, and back again. Observing Earth from the universe allows us to put our existence into perspective. Looking from Earth into space stirs a hunger for knowledge. The impermanence of our own planet, combined with the limitations of what we can know about the universe, destabilizes us.

 

Curated by Tamara Beheydt