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Per
Artem
ad AstraInterview with Michael Najjar
“golden eye II”, 2012, 132 x 202 cm, edition of 6. (Photo courtesy the artist, © Michael Najjar)
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In 2011 the artist Michael Najjar began a work entitled “outer space”, photographing the last launch of the Atlantis space shuttle at Cape Canaveral. Three years later he has completed a large part of his astronaut training programme and is set to become the first artist in space. He talked to uncube about his desire to fight gravity and the practicalities of becoming an astronaut.
“final mission”, 2012, 202 x 132 cm, edition of 6. (Photo courtesy the artist, © Michael Najjar)
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“golden eye I”, 2012, 132 x 202 cm, edition of 6. (Photo courtesy the artist, © Michael Najjar)
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»Space travel is a highly competitive sector and, as far as I can see, everybody tries to keep their secrets«
When I started working on this series it soon became clear that I needed to fly into space myself in order to personally experience what it means to leave our home planet and to contemplate it from space. Also I was very keen on learning how to prepare both body and mind for an actual space flight.
Who did you have to persuade to get on the programme and how?
I approached Virgin Galactic, because they are the most advanced company in building new spaceships for commercial space travel and they showed great interest in what I’m doing. In October 2012 I met Richard Branson for the first time at Spaceport America in the desert in New Mexico. The organisation of the cosmonaut training at Star City in Russia was a quite complicated and time-consuming process.
The first and most obvious question is why? What started you on this outer space project?
Ever since I was a little boy I have been fascinated by space and travelling in spaceships to distant new worlds. Now space travel has come within reach for me and that’s quite exciting. New technologies are being developed, allowing us to explore space on a much broader level, which will transform the way we live and work in the future dramatically. As an artist I’m interested in how these transformations will shape our future social structures.
Was the idea right from the beginning to become an actual astronaut yourself?
In my artistic work I am always very much involved in physical challenges and experiences.
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“gravitational rotator”, 2013, 132 x 202 cm, edition of 6. (Photo courtesy the artist, © Michael Najjar)
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“kinetic drift”, 2014, 132 x 202 cm, edition of 6. (Photo courtesy the artist, © Michael Najjar)
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Michael Najjar in training at the Yuri Gargarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, Star City, Russia. (Photo: Thomas Rusch)
»The space suit is in fact an abstract piece of architecture«
Photo: Thomas Rusch.
Video by Michael Najjar: “spacewalk” HD, 1-channel, stereo, 3.31 min, ed. 6, 2013 © Michael Najjar, 2013, in collaboration with Thomas Rusch and Dieter Jaufmann.
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The specialised German agency “Space Affairs” and its space-addicted owner Andreas Bergweiler helped me to organise it and make this mission possible. Training in a Soyuz capsule, spacewalk training in a hydrolab, zero-G floating during a parabolic flight and a ride into the stratosphere in a Russian MIG-29 fighter – what an incredible experience! For most of the training sessions I was accompanied by the German photographer Thomas Rusch.
You are actually going to space next year, aren’t you? When and where?
Yes I am. The date is not confirmed yet, but it should be in 2015. I will board Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two and launch from Spaceport America.
Michael Najjar in training at the Yuri Gargarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, Star City, Russia. (Photo: Thomas Rusch)
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Michael Najjar is a German artist, adventurer and future astronaut. Born in 1966, he has lived and worked in Berlin since 1988. His work is shown in museums, galleries and biennials around the world. The focus of his photography and video work is on key elements of our modern society driven and controlled by computer and information technologies. Najjar transmutes science, history and philosophy into visions and utopias of future social structures emerging under the impact of cutting-edge technologies. The fusion of realistic elements with fictitious realities is a recurrent hallmark in his work which is usually composed in thematically focused series.
How many different countries have you trained in, and how much more training is there to go?
I did most of my training in Russia and some at the DLR [German Aerospace Centre] in Cologne. In June this year I will perform a halo jump in the USA, which means parachuting from 10,000 metres up. Before the actual flight I will complete my training at Spaceport America itself.
One of the most interesting and special aspects of space travel in our era is its apparent intense international collaborative nature between so many different agencies and companies. Is that your experience?
I think international collaborations are based more on economic aspects rather than on cultural or technological exchange. Space travel is a highly competitive sector and, as far as I can see, everybody tries to keep their secrets.
The spacesuit an astronaut wears is a highly complex piece of equipment – almost a built environment in its own right. What’s it like to wear one? What effect does it have on your ability to perceive and experience your environment?
The spacesuit is like a spaceship in itself. It weighs 150 kilogrammes and is in fact an abstract piece of architecture. When I did my first briefing with the suit I was a bit anxious about getting claustrophobic inside it to be honest. On my actual first spacewalk training day I was put into the suit, lifted by crane over the water surface of the hydrolab and then safety divers led me down to 12 metres depth. Once all the life support systems activated, I felt great and much more comfortable than I’d imagined. An important experience was finding you are locked into a closed system, which deprives you from any real relationship to the environment. You do not feel the weight of the suit or your body. All of your senses – except vision – are cut off from the world around you.
You are about to become an astronaut! Does that bring with it feelings of responsibility?
Well the most important feeling of responsibility I have is towards my family: my wife and two-and-a-half year old son. Therefore I’m trying to prepare for the space flight as best as I can to reduce risks to a minimum. I
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