gravitational stress at the edge of space
2013
Format 1: 202 x 132 cm / 79.5 x 52 in, edition of 6 + 2 AP
Format 2: 102 x 67 cm / 40.2 x 26.3 in, edition of 6 + 2 AP
Hybrid photography, archival pigment print, aludibond, diasec, custom-made aluminium frame
“gravitational stress at the edge of space” was photographed during an edge-of-space flight in a Russian MiG-29 jetfighter that formed part of Michael Najjar’s cosmonaut training. Seated in the jetfighter, the artist was catapulted with supersonic speed into the stratosphere, reaching an altitude of 19,500m. During the high-speed flight maneuvers Michael Najjar was exposed to massive disorientation coupled with gravitational stress on his body and brain of up to 7 g.
The artwork evokes the loss of orientation caused by enormous acceleration and crushing g-forces. The picture is a self-portrait of the artist taken at 19,500m altitude when travelling at almost twice the speed of sound. The enormous g-forces made it almost impossible to take this unique "selfie". The work also illustrates how totally dependent the human body is on technology for survival in such an extreme environment.
