For her solo exhibition at the Fondation as part of the Open Space programme, Tabita Rezaire presents the film Des/astres (2024), the last part of a trilogy devoted to the ties that humanity forges with the cosmos. Free access with a ticket for the David Hockney, 25 exhibition. Download the exhibition brochure and the interview with the artist.

Originating at various megalithic sites, this series of films explores their astronomical links to address the connections between Earth and Sky. While the first work – Mamelles ancestrales (2019) – explored Senegambian stone monuments to understand our relationships with the dead, the second – Orbit diapason (2021) – presented a reflection on the existence of extraterrestrial life from a South African megalithic site.

The third chapter – Des/astres (2024) – examines humanity’s desire to go beyond the earth and commune with the invisible. This new film was shot on the Guiana Plateau in the Amazon rainforest and unfolds in four chapters – forest, water, stone, sky –, each offering a unique way to connect with the cosmos. Stone circles, tall trees and water spirits become technologies of cosmic exploration, much like the rockets from the Guiana Space Centre hurtling toward space. Testimonials gathered from tradition-keepers, shamans, astrophysicists and researchers shed light on the ancestral heritage of a land in which, through a constellation of perspectives, popular beliefs coexist with scientific theories.

For the presentation of this film, the artist has designed a “planetarium hut” (a carbet), inspired by Amazonian vernacular architecture. As Des/astres is projected on the underside of the hut’s domed roof, viewers are invited to lie down in hammocks, hand-woven in keeping with the Kali’na and Lokono traditions, for a journey between sky and earth. In today’s context of ecological crises and the acceleration of technological innovation, “Des/astres is an invitation to bring the universe into oneself, to remind us of the power of the original mystery”.