Gallery: Surreal Photos Rethink Our Relationship With Space
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia01map to the infinite
The photos in Big Sky Hunting express the artist's impression of humanity's efforts to understand and map the infinite reaches of outer space.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia02bigskyhunting- (5 of 20)
The project got its start when photographer Alberto Sinigaglia and his girlfriend were driving in the north of France, and stumbled on a strange, bulbous observatory.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia03bigskyhunting- (1 of 20)
After visiting a total of eight observatories, Sinigaglia revisited one on a photo assignment, and he was given access to the facility's discarded photographic plates.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia04bigskyhunting- (2 of 20)
Many of the slides photographed for Big Sky Hunting were discarded, containing cracks or traces of satellites that rendered them useless for scientific research. For Sinigaglia, they retained a symbolic depth that inspired him to keep collecting.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia05bigskyhunting- (8 of 20)
Several images in the book are inventions of the photographer, like a planet (jokingly named UP212) created from the light of an old slide projector.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia06bigskyhunting- (3 of 20)
Part of the inspiration for the book came from the fact that many of our images of space are translations of non-visual information collected by sensitive instruments.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia07bigskyhunting- (9 of 20)
The images in the series are not meant as a factual documentation of the work of astronomers, but uses their aesthetic -- both high and low tech -- to convey a sense of our efforts to comprehend the cosmos.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia08bigskyhunting- (7 of 20)
"Since its invention the photographic medium has been related to astronomy," says Sinigaglia in a description of the book. "Until that moment human kind had looked at the Cosmos as something immeasurable, something sublime, which put us in front of an acute awareness of our limitations, of our own ignorance."
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia09bigskyhunting- (6 of 20)
Some of the images are found or bought items, maps, and other objects. Some images were sourced directly from NASA.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia10bigskyhunting- (4 of 20)
Each images in Big Sky Hunting is printed on unbound photographic paper, allowing them to be arranged by the reader in any sequence they like.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia11bigskyhunting- (14 of 20)
"I buy a lot of things on the web," says Sinigaglia. "I have a lot of meteorites that I bought on eBay. I don’t care if they’re fake or real."
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia12bigskyhunting- (18 of 20)
Several of the images in the book have little or nothing to do with space exploration, but are included because they suggest something about what we're looking for in space.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia13bigskyhunting- (10 of 20)
The 1985 classic Goonies movie actually played a role in the series, along with other '80s movies involving kids and maps. "I love those kinds of movies, they influence me and I think all my generation," Sinigaglia says. "I think it’s a generational thing, this fascination with maps. The photographers can be like a detective, or an explorer in a way. "
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia14bigskyhunting- (11 of 20)
The first iteration of the book began to take shape while Sinigaglia was studying under Penelope Umbrico. She turned him on to accumulative approach where he creates indirect impressions using groups of images rather than the strict representation of more traditional photography.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia15bigskyhunting- (16 of 20)
The title of the book is itself a metaphor, meant to evoke the human desire to encompass and conquer the space around us.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia16bigskyhunting- (15 of 20)
Amid all the moon maps and pictures of galaxies, and without contextualizing information, mundane objects take on otherworldly qualities.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia17bigskyhunting- (19 of 20)
At the heart of the series is the notion that a photograph can never approach the reality of what it represents.
Photos by Alberto Sinigaglia18bigskyhunting- (17 of 20)
"Outer space is the highest metaphor of the limits, of the boundaries of representation," Sinigaglia says. "Because we are trying to represent something that we cannot have an experience of."
