Exploring the peripheries of outer space

Barbara Imhof interviews artists and designers Joseph Popper and Sitraka Rakotoniaina who probe the materialisation of futures through public co-enquires. In this conversation we discuss how they have used outer space futures as narratives for artistic construction and practices of collective imagination.

Joseph Popper is based in Basel and London and works as artist and designer across various media including film, installation and photography. His current work explores the complex interactions between collective imaginations and technological projects, examining commonly held visions of desirable futures and their different materialisations. He consistently engages with imaginaries and practices of outer space exploration, responding to the premise that outer space has become normalised by particular myths of progress.

http://www.josephpopper.net/

Sitraka Rakotoniaina was born in Madagascar and grew up in Paris. He moved to London in 2008 and graduated from the Design Interactions program at the Royal College of Art in 2010. He is an independent artist/designer with an interest in speculative design and world-building. He crafts (future) narratives through designed artefacts, to probe, question or excite, and uses design as a medium to imagine new relationships between people and technology.

http://sitraka.co.uk/2020/