The Rehearsal of Space and the Poetic Impossibility to Manage the Infinite

Though a notoriously secretive organization, in 2012 the European Space Agency (ESA) allowed Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins (born 1977) to explore their facilities. The photographs collected here depict more than 15 ESA facilities--test centers, robotics departments, jet propulsion laboratories, space simulators, astronaut training centers and more--scattered throughout the world. Though Martins' photographs aim for total reproductive fidelity, their very simplicity and starkness disassembles space, provoking contemplation of the aesthetic, material and discursive potentialities of these highly confidential areas. Martins' project does not end with this volume: between 2014 and 2018, his exploration of the ESA will continue in the form of audience-driven events, such as seminars, exhibitions and forums.