Extrasolar
Mahieux Bartoli’s current body of work presents a series of cyanotypes on silk, derived from the plans of spacecraft. The works are ‘blueprints’ in process and concept: the cyanotype technique was used in the 19th century for architectural and engineering technical drawings. They create a tension between the transparency and delicacy of the fabric and the massive carapace of the spacecraft they allude to. Highlighting humanity’s fragility and curiosity, these pieces are tactile and theatrical, immersive in their scale and responsive to movement. The title of the series, Extrasolar - ’beyond the solar system’ - refers to the sun’s role in the making process of the cyanotypes, and anchors our place in the galaxy, along with our desire to know what is beyond it.