This event, organised by Prof. Nina Wakeford, created an interesting constellation between We Are Supernova and curator Julia Marchand’s research on the Georgian Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale. Her pavilion and presentation took its starting point from the artwork “65 Maximiliana or the Illegal Practice of Astronomy,” a 1964 collaboration between Georgian artist Ilia Zdanevich (Iliazd) and Max Ernst. Julia also presented the archives and history of Iliazd’s publishing house “41 Degrees,” which promoted the futurist poetic language ZAUM. 

My presentation focused on my research on NASA’s Stardust Archive, including behind-the-scenes details and production of my exhibition Tracer Object. The form of my presentation was a live reading of a video essay made from screencapture, something I developed during my PhD to intentionally blur the lines between live and recorded images. After our talks, the sociologist Michael Guggenheim provided a thoughtful response that sparked further conversation among the audience.