The starry skies are maybe more than ever the subject of dreams about long distance travel and new encounters. One way of dealing with this is the recently launched Art Spaceship by V-Art. Because although there were recently attempts to declare art as non-essential, it’s clear that it has an important role to play in thinking about and developing the future. Jules Verne or George Méliès are of course great pioneering examples of the important art of science fiction. Today Alexandra Dementieva is one of 21 artists leading the way.

Selected by an international jury, Alexandra Dementieva’s project Sleeper (2018) is situated in sector E or the Wardroom of the massive spaceship that seemingly floats away to unknown destinations.

The Sleeper installation presents tapestries being excavated in 4500 by our descendants/ space travellers and their interpretation of that archeological discovery. The size of each carpet is 55х77 cm and corresponds not only to the average size and aspect ratio of a cabinet easel painting but also to one of the typical television screen ratios of the last century.

The tapestries arranged along the whole perimeter of the space imitate a picture gallery. Each of them is based on a still image from Woody Allen’s film Sleeper (1973). However, the stills serve only as a basis for the images since all of them have been completely transformed — glitched — practically beyond recognition as resulting from a computer breakdown during the viewing of the film. However, the order of the narrative development is rigorously preserved — still images are arranged in the same sequence that they appear in the film. In some of them, one can discern particular scenes and characters; however, the tapestries gradually turn into something similar to abstract painting.

Using the iOS or Android platforms one can link up to the work and listen to a story of this tapestry told by scientists of the future. We learn that human evolution went farther than we could imagine, that they managed to dispose of the physical body and exist in a form of light waves. All in all, we are presented with a picture gallery, each tapestry of which is both an interactive symbol of the past century and a certain prospect for the future.

Find more information on Sleeper on Alexandra Dementieva’s site under Works.

For a visit of the Art Spaceship and more info check this.