Space Debris is an art installation developed by the collaborative efforts of 4 People. Where sculpture, film, animation, interior design and photography intersect. The project serves as a critical examination of the environmental ramifications of global space activities and industry. Specifically highlighting the adverse impact of space travel, satellite missions and related endeavours on Earth and their catastrophic contributions to the ongoing climate crisis. This project delves into the life cycle of space materials from their extraction to their disposal, which includes space debris, which NASA states estimates ‘at 100,000,000 objects with a diameter 1 – 10 cm, and over 36,500 pieces with diameters >10 cm, are now in orbit including the Graveyard Orbit. A percentage of space debris returning to Earth is directed towards Point Nemo, whereas rogue debris crashes to various locations globally.
4 People’s response to this focused climate issue was to create an immersive art installation aimed at projecting the environmental consequences of space debris and its potential contamination of space, including its role in exacerbating global warming and its need for rare and conflict minerals. By bridging the realms of earth, space and the ocean, we sought to reveal the interconnectedness of these environmental challenges.
Through Space Debris, we confronted the romanticised narratives surrounding space endeavours, revealing the stark environmental devastation which occurs on both Earth and in space. In space tourism, for example, the marketing of the overview effect is an irony of the consequential environmental damage. As an Across RCA collaboration of practitioners, we made the deliberate choice to question the trend in which space corporations often gloss over critical issues and the illusionary narrative that obscures ethical and environmental responsibilities.
Space Debris not only highlights the significant contribution of space activities to the climate crisis but also aims to challenge prevailing perceptions and foster critical discourse on the ecological consequences extending beyond the boundaries of Earth.
Animation by Kasidech Kumwongdee, Interior Design & Photography by Sam Joseph, Film by Joe Jordan, Sculpture by Max King
