Eduardo Kac has created an artwork aboard the International Space Station (ISS); French astronaut Thomas Pesquet realized it on Saturday, February 18th, 2017.
Kac's work, entitled Inner Telescope, was specifically conceived for zero gravity and was not brought from Earth: it was made in space by Pesquet following the artist's instructions.
The artwork was made from materials already available in the space station. It consists of a form that has neither top nor bottom, neither front nor back. Viewed from a certain angle, it reveals the French word “MOI“ [meaning “me”, or "myself"]; from another point of view one sees a human figure with its umbilical cord cut. This “MOI“ stands for the collective self, evoking humanity, and the umbilical cord cut represents our liberation from gravitational limits.
Inner Telescope is an instrument of observation and poetic reflection, which leads us to rethink our relationship with the world and our position in the Universe.
Since the 1980s, Eduardo Kac has been theorizing and producing art and poetry that challenge the limits of gravity. His Space Poetry manifesto was published in 2007. Now, in 2017, Kac finally realizes the dream he has pursued for more than 30 years: the creation, production and experience of a work directly in outer space.
Inner Telescope was produced by the Observatoire de l'Espace (Space Observatory), the cultural lab of the French Space Agency (CNES), with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Full Record Details

Launch date:
Launch mission:
Launch provider:
Launch location:
Launching state:
Launch vehicle COSPAR id:
17 Nov 2016
Soyuz 49S
Glavkosmos
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Russian Federation
2016-070A
Destination:
Host:
Host COSPAR id:
LEO, International Space Station (ISS)
International Space Station
1998-067A
Return date:
Return vehicle:
Landing Location:
Return vehicle COSPAR id:
Current status:
Ended
Project partners:
Title:
Artist:
Date:
Medium:
Dimensions:
Genre:
IAAA art style:
Collection:
COSPAR id:
Inner Telescope
Eduardo Kac
2017
Found materials
Sculpture, Ephemera, Performance
none
Are you the copyright holder of this artwork and do not wish to be included in this archive, then let us know by mail and we will remove your record.
Copyright Disclaimer: Exception to copyright for libraries, museums and archives. Copies for the preservation of cultural and scientific heritage: libraries, archives or museums can restore works or make digital copies of works in order to preserve and conserve them for future generations. More info here. This database and its content are protected. More info here. No copyright infringement intended.