Astronomical phenomena such as star fields, galaxies and nebulae play an important role in the photographs and videos of Jamal Ageli (1997). Since childhood, Ageli has been fascinated by light, the universe, and instruments such as lenses and telescopes. In his work, he approaches (fictional) images and narratives in a documentary manner. He combines his practice as an independent artist with commissioned work for astronomical institutions and museums.
The installation Ageli presents at Prospects is part of Call her the Morning Star (2022), the project with which he graduated from the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague. Through a photo and video installation, Ageli reflects on the increasing light pollution caused by satellites. The starting point for this project is the creation of Starlink by SpaceX in 2019: a vast satellite network designed to provide internet access. These satellites are not always clearly visible to the naked eye, but they do appear in photographs.
Ageli became aware of this while photographing star fields – an activity he regularly undertakes and which requires exposure times of several hours. Increasingly, satellites began to interfere with his images as they crossed the frame. For scientific purposes, photographs in which satellites cut through a star field are considered unusable. Ageli, however, deliberately chooses to work with these so-called ‘failed’ images.
In his lightbox installation at Prospects, he presents a constellation that documents the impact of satellite traffic and invites reflection on how this technology is polluting our skies.
Text: Sarah van Binsbergen