ART PROJECTS: Aerocene
LIFTED BY SUN, CARRIED BY WIND
Antarctic Biennale art projects
Project: Aerocene
Type: performance
Author: Tomás Saraceno
Country: Argentina
The desire to fly is universal and fundamental to humankind. Yet in the Anthropocene, our current geological epoch in which human activities are having a demonstrable impact on the earth’s geology and ecosystems, by-products of aviation are contributing to climate change. But what if we rethink our current dependency on hydrocarbons and mineral resources radically, challenging ourselves to be lifted only by the sun and air, and relating to energy circuits in an elemental yet, still, completely unfamiliar way?
Based on the vision of artist Tomas Saraceno, the Aerocene project is developing a series of air-fuelled sculptures to achieve a carbon-emissions-free journey around the world. The Aerocene sculptures become buoyant only by utilizing the heat of the Sun and infrared radiation from the surface of Earth. Aerocene, developed by the non-profit organization Aerocene Foundation, aims to create and horizontally distribute new solutions and technologies that raise public awareness on climate issues and the current crisis through participative and collaborative actions: launching sensors and devices up to the sky in a fuel-free way.
The project proposes to imagine and develop common futures of mobility and dwelling, beyond the current Anthropocene age. Through its aerosolar traveling sculptures, Aerocene anticipates a borderless, open source, free-flying utopian existence. Inflated only by air, lifted only by the Sun, carried only by the wind, Aerocene sculptures embody a step toward a clean and sustainable future.