SPACE UTOPIA
Solo Exhibition of New Works by Vincent Fournier
10 February - 26 March 2022
Extended until 23 April 2022
La Galerie Paris 1839 is delighted to present SPACE UTOPIA, an exhibition showing the most recent photographic works that explore the spirit of nostalgia and futurism by VINCENT FOURNIER. The exhibition is open to the Hong Kong audience at La Galerie in Central, and continues at Art Central Hong Kong during 26-29 May 2022.
Vincent Fournier takes you on a journey out of this world, into the dream of Space Conquest, which breaks through the constrained space where this strange period is keeping us in. Fournier transforms this trip through the extraordinary nature of Iceland into an artistic adventure.
Fine art photographer Vincent Fournier is fascinated in exploring the boundary between reality and fiction. In his photo series, Fournier reveals not only his passion for science, technology and their mysteries but also creating and envisioning a fantasy world. Poetic and meticulous, Fournier transforms real venues into utopian-like images.
In 2017, La Galerie has presented the first part of Space Utopia by Vincent Fournier. It tells the story of both the past and the future of space exploration, the photographs are a mix of historical and documentarian vision of space adventure with scenes staged inspired by cinema and Fournier’s childhood memories.
The artist has been looking at space through all sorts of space observatories in Chile, the US, the North Pole and even China. In 2021, Fournier continued his journey of Space exploration through the extended series SPACE UTOPIA. He continues to explore futuristic fiction and discovers glimpses of the future in our present and past. In this new series of works, Fournier shifted his focuses to another landscape – Iceland.
Iceland Moon Mars Simulation #11, MS2 Spacesuit, ISE, Islande, 2021
Edition of 10 + 2AP, 3 sizes available
“The Space Project explores Earth-bound landscapes which, in their strangeness, remind us of our lifelong yearning for the great beyond. The series evokes the blurring of science fiction, imagination, reality and dreams.”
Iceland Moon Mars Simulation
“In the continuation of my series on the space adventure ‘Space Utopia’ I went to Iceland in August 2021 to photograph the Iceland Moon Mars Simulation expedition. It is a collaboration between the Icelandic Space Agency and Professor Michael Lye with the participation of NASA/Johnson Space Center whose goal is to test a new spacesuit of the Artemis generation: the MS2. Iceland’s geography makes it the perfect playground for the serious science of lunar and Martian mission simulation. The spacesuit isn’t quite space-worthy of course but it will allow testing of sensors and systems that will end up in the real thing. Iceland’s unearthly landscapes have caught the attention of scientists looking to plan for future missions to Mars and the Moon. While it can’t quite provide the physical atmosphere (or lack of) its rocky plains and lava tubes aren’t a million miles from the ones astronauts will encounter on their walkabouts. The sites for the Iceland Moon Mars Simulation Expedition were selected for their resemblance to an environment similar to that which would be found on the Martian surface and which could serve as landing, research and habitation sites for future planned missions to the Moon and Mars. These sites include lava tunnels, glaciers, glacial debris fields, basaltic black sands, volcanic craters, and remote areas containing buried ice. Research will determine how astronauts can train to identify signs of Martian life using geothermal energy and explore how frozen water sources in the polar regions of the Moon and Mars can be reused as fuel for rockets and for long-term human habitation.
Iceland has played an important role in the history of space exploration. In the 1960s, NASA sent the Apollo astronauts to northern Iceland to train for their missions to the Moon.”
-Vincent Fournier
Iceland Moon Mars Simulation #10, MS2 Spacesuit, ISE, Islande, 2021
Edition of 10 + 2AP, 3 sizes available
Iceland Moon Mars Simulation #14, MS2 Spacesuit, ISE, Islande, 2021
Edition of 10 + 2AP, 3 sizes available
Artist Insights
Learn more about the inspiration and creative thoughts behind Vincent Fournier's works in interviews with the artist.
Exhibition Walkthrough
A quick view of the exhibition as presented in La Galerie.
Explore more of Vincent Fournier's works in our virtual exhibition:
