Sputnik
(2014)

In his animations, the artist usually allows figures and objects to rotate around their own axes or around the axes of other objects, thus characterizing his own very individual style. The selected video “Sputnik” already embodies this style with its quote: Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to be sent into orbit around the earth on 4.10.1957. Spacecrafts orbit the Earth or other celestial bodies on an elliptical or circular trajectory with the goal of exploring them or else serving military or commercial purposes. The total of ten satellites all named Sputnik, which Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, sent into space, were as yet still unmanned but nevertheless partly equipped with animals, which usually had to die for the experiments.

A raw chicken is at the centre of attention in Peter Aerschmann’s “Sputnik” video. A cigarette butt, gnawed-off bones, a lollipop, some toothpaste, a squashed can and a battery. Contemporary consumer goods function as satellites whilst product detritus becomes reminiscent of space junk. The naked and dead body of the chicken remains untouched. The video combines stages of raw food before preparation and one afterwards, with leftovers from the meal.

The chicken might well symbolize a profane epiphany, representing a feast where there is both sacrifice and worship. The emblem of factory farming feeding mankind appears more like a deity. The artist locates his critique of civilization whilst from an orbit. The background in Peter Aerschmann’s video was originally black. For the videocity.bs presentation on the eBoard of the Congress Center Basel, he was motivated by the curator to choose a different, light blue background. After all, the Old Masters before also brought supernatural apparitions close to the near heavens.

Andrea Domesle, translated by Christopher Haley Simpson