"Space Works" exhibition at Tampere Art Museum, Finland
The "Space Works" exhibition brings together a selection of contemporary artworks that explore the hopes and possibilities as well as threats and doubts we project onto the infinite universe that lies beyond our home planet. From utopias to dystopias â and the realities in between â the artistsâs approaches are in turn fictional and humorous, using the visual languages of the sublime and mundane. Included in the exhibition are artworks that engage with the nostalgia of the Space Age, offer geopolitical and intersectional critiques of space exploration or play satirically with the languages of science and propaganda. From science fiction to fact, some artists celebrate technology, others investigate questions of ecology, surveillance, the military and government secrecy. Finally, artists draw the viewer to the ineffable beauty of space or point to the ideological construction of a cosmic aesthetic. The Space Works is part of the international photo festival Backlight2020.
Produced by Backlight 2020, the Hasselblad Center of Sweden and the
Tampere Art Museum.
Curated by Melanie Vandenbrouck, Sara Walker, Louise Wolthers,
Hannu Vanhanen and Maija Tammi.
Michael Najjar participates with several artworks from his internationally acclaimed
"outer space" series. His artwork "liquid gravity" became the key visual for the exhibition.