There was a time when manned exploration of space was the pinnacle of human endeavour, but after the Americans won the Space Race and put men on the moon, and the Cold War ended, things slowed down a bit. Budgets were slashed, projects decommissioned, and as developments focused on unmanned probes to reveal the secrets of the universe, the age of the daredevil astronaut was over. What was left was a lot of hugely expensive and largely redundant kit, deserted test facilities and ageing training bases, which help explain why space exploration, although still at the cutting edge of science in many ways, has a palpably retro air about it.
French photographer Vincent Fournier has a talent for capturing that faded glory. His Space Project series saw him travel to various space training facilities around the world, where we see the increasingly outmoded and near-obsolete remnants of space programs through a 1970s filter. The essence of the collection is perhaps best encapsulated in his portrait of a Soviet cosmonaut, standing somewhat forlornly in a well-used space suit against a background of throwback floral wallpaper. Fournier notes that nowadays, mankind is perhaps more driven towards technological developments and discoveries here on Earth, and the Burkina Faso-born artist’s The Man Machine collection follows in that direction. Primarily concerned with robotics engineering, it’s a humorous series of set pieces in which man and machine awkwardly co-exist, with a stilted interaction that suggests we still have a way to go. The two series are being exhibited under the umbrella title Past Forward at Ravestijn Gallery, Amsterdam, from 8 September to 31 October.
Vincent Fournier
Space Project: General Boris V., Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center [GCTC],
Star City, Zvyozdny Gorodok, Russia 2007
Vincent Fournier
Space Project: AnechoicChamber,
European Space Research and Technology Centre [ESTEC],
Noordwijk, the Netherlands 2008
Vincent Fournier
The Man Machine: Murata Boy#1, [Murata],
Head Office Building, Nagaokakyo-shi,
Kyoto, Japan 2010
Vincent Fournier
Space Project: SOUSY Svalbard Radar [SSR], Adventdalen,
Spitsbergen Island, Norway, 2010.
Vincent Fournier
Moon Valley, Atacama desert,
Lunar Robotic Research [NASA], Chile, 2007.
Vincent Fournier
HRP-2 #1 [Kawada], Promet Developed by AIST,
Tochigi, Japan, 2010
Vincent Fournier
Space Project: Extravehicular Visor Assembly,
John F. Kennedy Space Center [NASA]
Florida U.S.A. 2011
Vincent Fournier
The Man Machine: Twendy-One Robot and Professor Shigeki Sugano,
[Sugano Laboratory], Waseda University,
Tokyo, Japan 2010
