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In recent years, photographer Bieke Depoorter has sought out amateur stargazers, visited state-of-the-art observatories, and researched the history of astronomy. Never especially interested in the field earlier, she gradually realized that her new obsession was related to childhood memories lost due to trauma. The night sky is, after all, a kind of shared memory: the light from celestial bodies can take hundreds or thousands of lightyears to reach our eyes on earth. Some observable stars may have disappeared long ago. Depoorter felt reluctant to look at stars herself but was drawn to observing others as they observed the universe. In Blinked Myself Awake, she investigates the fragility of memory, photography's unreliability, the human desire for objectivity, and the elusive nature of 'truth'. She connects the dots of a highly personal narrative, interweaving images of stargazers with diaristic texts and fragments from the history of astronomy - a science that was forever changed by the invention of photography.
In den letzten Jahren hat die Fotografin Bieke Depoorter Hobbyastronomen aufgesucht, modernste Observatorien besucht und die Geschichte der Astronomie erforscht. Obwohl sie sich zuvor nie sonderlich für dieses Gebiet interessiert hat, wurde ihr doch allmählich klar, dass ihre neue Obsession mit Kindheitserinnerungen zusammenhing, die durch ein Trauma verloren gegangen waren. Der Nachthimmel ist schließlich eine Art gemeinsames Gedächtnis: Das Licht von Himmelskörpern kann Hunderte oder Tausende von Lichtjahren brauchen, um unsere Augen auf der Erde zu erreichen. Einige beobachtbare Sterne sind vielleicht schon vor langer Zeit verschwunden. Depoorter zögerte, selbst Sterne zu betrachten, fühlte sich aber dazu hingezogen, andere zu beobachten, wie sie das Universum studierten. In Blinked Myself Awake untersucht sie die Zerbrechlichkeit der Erinnerung, die Unzuverlässigkeit der Fotografie, den menschlichen Wunsch nach Objektivität und die schwer fassbare Natur der "Wahrheit". Sie verbindet die Punkte einer sehr persönlichen Erzählung, indem sie Bilder von Sternguckern mit Tagebuchtexten und Fragmenten aus der Geschichte der Astronomie verwebt - einer Wissenschaft, die durch die Erfindung der Fotografie für immer verändert wurde.
Memories like falling stars. A subtle yet ingenious collection of personal recollections, interwoven with historical insights into the development of astronomy and the catalytic role that photography played in it.' In recent years, photographer Bieke Depoorter has sought out amateur stargazers, visited state-of-the-art observatories, and researched the history of astronomy. Never especially interested in the field earlier, she gradually realized that her new obsession was related to childhood memories lost due to trauma. The night sky is, after all, a kind of shared memory: the light from celestial bodies can take hundreds or thousands of light-years to reach our eyes on earth. Some observable stars may have disappeared long ago. Depoorter felt reluctant to look at stars herself but was drawn to observing others as they observed the universe. In Blinked Myself Awake, she investigates the fragility of memory, photography's unreliability, the human desire for objectivity, and the elusive nature of 'truth.' She connects the dots of a highly personal narrative, interweaving images of stargazers with diaristic texts and fragments from the history of astronomy - a science that was forever changed by the invention of photography.
