Outer Space Transmitter

2021 – ongoing
Installation
Parabolic antenna, transmitter equipment, radio operating desk

At the heart of the project is the question of whether extraterrestrial life is possible – and what communication with an unknown intelligence could fundamentally look like.

The project involves building and operating a functional radio station through which I transmit art into interstellar space. To realize this, I first completed a training as a radio operator and passed an exa mination administered by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur). I then constructed a parabolic antenna and developed a specific symbol system for transmission: an extraterrestrial alphabet.

The project assumes that art can function as a form of communication that is not bound to spoken language – and is therefore, in principle, also detectable by extraterrestrial life. Under the hypothesis that reflexivity and the capacity for abstraction are fundamental characteristics of intelligent life forms, I assume that extraterrestrials must be conceived not only as intelligent, but above all as creative beings. From this perspective, the “language of art” becomes a central key: a possible interface for communication with extraterrestrial entities.

OUTER SPACE TRANSMITTER
in public space (2021 – 2024):

1       Alicante, Spain
2      Krakow, Poland
3      St. Pölten, Austria
4      Cologne, Germany
5      Graz, Austria
6      Cologne, Germany
7      Dortmund, Germany
8      Krems, Austria
9      Berlin, Germany
10    Cologne, Germany
11    Berlin, Germany
12    Xanten, Germany

Outer Space Transmitter is presented as part of the Grand Snail Tour by Urbane Künste Ruhr and was conceived in 2021 in cooperation with Regioparl and Donau-Universität Krems and financed with funds from Forum Morgen. 3D modelling and digital construction by Paul Ketz and Dilara Yesilova. Radio support by Amateurfunk Pulheim.