Performance and the politics of outer space

My current research centres on the politics of performance and outer space. I approach performance as an object of study, paying attention to artistic and cultural practices that engage with astronomy and astronautics. Here, I draw from the work of several “space artists” such as Katie Paterson, Nahum Romero, and Venza Christ as well as from the work of artists who do not, at first glance, work with space but whose work addresses the politics of land and territory. My argument is simple: the politics of outer space are the politics of the planet, I also use performance theory as an entry point to study the performance of scientific and technological practices in the space sector worldwide. My interest is in studying the performativity in and of the social production of outer space, and in the articulation of new and more inclusive frameworks to understand our planetary relationality beyond the current exclusive framework of “outer space”.

This line of work stems from my doctoral dissertation, titled Planetary Performance Theory, and is informing the development of my first monograph, titled Endless Planets: Performance and the Politics of Outer Space. I have published about this topic in specialised journals and books in the field of theatre and performance studies, which you can find below, along with more information about the research projects titled Performance Studies Space Programme and Dark Matter Wonder.

Some publications:

RELACIONALIDAD PLANETARIA: EL ESPACIO EXTERIOR DESDE LA TEORÍA DE PERFORMANCE (In Spanish)

Investigación Teatral (Forthcoming 2024).

Este artículo aborda la intersección entre los de performance y el estudio crítico del “espacio exterior”. En la primera sección, ofrezco un análisis retórico del discurso conocido como "Elegimos ir a la Luna", que John F. Kennedy dictó en la Universidad de Rice en 1962. En el siguiente apartado, presento la metodología que los estudios de performance pueden emplear para contribuir con el estudio crítico del espacio exterior. Aquí, hago referencia a: 1) la matriz que Henry Lefebvre propone para analizar la construcción social del espacio; 2) la teoría general de performance postulada por Jon McKenzie; y 3) al concepto de performatividad posthumana propuesto por Karen Barad. Establecido este marco teórico, el artículo propone el concepto de relacionalidad planetaria para vislumbrar cómo la principal contribución de los estudios de performance es politizar acciones colectivas para descolonizar las narrativas y prácticas que marcan el cielo como una frontera susceptible de conquista y dominio.

(This article addresses the intersection between performance studies and the critical study of outer space. In the first section, I offer a rhetorical analysis of the speech known as "We Choose to Go to the Moon," which John F. Kennedy delivered at Rice University in 1962. In the next section, I present the methodology that performance studies can employ. to contribute to the critical study of outer space. Here, I refer to: 1) the matrix that Henry Lefebvre proposes to analyse the social construction of space; 2) the general theory of performance postulated by Jon McKenzie; and 3) the concept of posthuman performativity proposed by Karen Barad. Established this theoretical framework, the article proposes the concept of planetary relationality to glimpse how the main contribution that I believe performance studies can make is to politicize collective actions to decolonize narratives and practices that mark the sky as a border susceptible to conquest and dominion)

CELESTIAL POLITICS: PERFORMANCE AND THE COSMIC UNDERCLASS

In Identity, Culture, and the Science Performance, Volume 2, edited by Vivian Appler and Meredith Conti, Bloomsbury, 2023.

In this chapter, I make the case that the definition of science performance and its politics can also be extended to instances where the science is hidden from the critical view, but perhaps more importantly, hidden in the folds of what makes a science performance scientific or political in the first place. To advance this point, I propose the notions of the cosmic underclass and the celestial politics of performance. I argue that cultural critique must pay attention to these as most individuals on this planet may be so busy trying to ascertain their right to exist on this planet’s soil that their political and artistic expressions may only imply their concurrent claim to live under a sky of their own.

TO KNOW OTHERWISE

Seisma Magazine 02 Astrophysics (2021), pp. 234-245.

This article offers a brief historical overview of the intersection between the performing arts and astrophysics.

ASTROAESTHETICS: PERFORMANCE AND THE RISE OF INTERPLANETARY CULTURE

Theatre Research International, 41:3, pp. 258-275, 2016.

Recent years have seen an increase in extraterrestrial exploration projects. What was once a series of competing displays of Cold War political and military might between the US and the USSR has now re-emerged with international collaborations and fresh contestants that range from newly developed, government-based Space programmes to a growing list of private and corporate investors and entrepreneurs. Historically, performances and performative actions and utterances have been important instruments for the representation and politicization of outer-Space discovery and exploration.

EXTRATERRESTRIAL CULTURE: HOW WE EXPRESS OURSELVES THROUGH SPACE EXPLORATION

Guest blog for The Planetary Society. April 2017.

Terrestrial cultures have (always) had a degree of extraterrestrial-ity in them. Cultural astronomers and archeoastronomers (historians and scientists that work with the history of extraterrestrial observation and its impacts on civilization) have demonstrated that this was already a constant in ancient civilizations, with examples such as the rituals performed in places like Stonehenge and Chichen Itza. Indeed, the extraterrestrial has been a constant feature in the human history.

PERFORMANCE STUDIES SPACE PROGRAMME

I am the co-convener, with Professor Maaike Bleeker, of the Performance Studies Space Program, or PSSP. The program enables interdisciplinary encounters between these seemingly divergent disciplines with the objective of debating artistic, cultural, and scientific performance practices. To this end, the Program considers three lines of investigation: 1. Performance as a representation of Science, Technology and the Universe; 2. Performance as a method of interdisciplinary research; 3. and Astronomy/Cosmology as fields for performance theory. These three lines of investigation map a topology between performance research and astronomical/cosmological disciplines and their methods.

PSSP Mission #1 Hamburg 2017 (Handout)

PSSP Mission #2 took place Calgary July 2019.

PSSP Mission #3 will take place in 2024.

DARK MATTER WONDER

Presented by RMIT University School of Design in association with Leonardo and ANAT.

In November 2019, I was part of a special discussion on the artistic and cultural implications of dark matter research. You can watch the video of the panel below.

Dark matter and dark energy is thought to make up ninety-five percent of the universe and is constantly passing through us and our planet. Research into dark matter will soon be undertaken at the Stawell Underground Physics Lab (SUPL) in Western Victoria. The Lab’s location one kilometre underground in the Stawell Gold Mine will provide necessary radiation shielding against background cosmic rays, with the research set to complement that undertaken in the northern hemisphere. This panel discussion explores the potential of artistic research intersections with dark matter scientific research and Indigenous astronomical knowledge. The discussion begins a program of wonderous creative research in relation to dark matter and Indigenous astronomy.