Back to list Photographs intended to show aliens what life on
Earth is like, and sent into space by Nasa in the 1970s,
are the inspiration for 'Once Upon a Time', a work by
Turner Prize winner Steve McQueen, at the South London
Gallery from 17 September. McQueen?s installation at the South London
Gallery involves the projection of 116 images,
replicating those still traveling through space at a
speed of 150 million miles per year on the Voyager space
probes that began their exploratory journey across the
universe in 1977. In Once Upon a Time, McQueen explores the
construction and representation of knowledge. The images
chosen by Nasa, including a newborn baby, state of the
art skyscrapers and fresh supermarket produce, portray a
rose-tinted version of life on Earth where poverty, war,
religious conflict and disease are notable by their
absence. The images are accompanied by unintelligible
voices 'speaking in tongues' a phenomenon known as
glossolalia. This undecipherable language is mostly
associated with evangelist Christians but is in fact
present in many cultures. The images on which Once Upon a Time is based
could potentially still be picked up by alien life
forms. Voyager II is currently the furthest manmade
object from Earth, at around 22 times the distance
between the Earth and the Sun, and Voyager I is not far
behind. If in the future life on Earth ends, the
photographic record on the Voyager probes will prove
that mankind existed but barely hint at the complexity
and history of the human race. McQueen worked closely with William J Clancey,
Nasa researcher and advisor to the SETI (Search for
Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) laboratory, and William
J Samarin, linguist and professor emeritus in the
anthropology department at the University of Toronto to
make Once Upon a Time. Steve McQueen, is a leading international
contemporary video and filmmaker, born in Britain and
based in Amsterdam. He won the Turner Prize in 1999 and
was awarded an OBE in 2002. McQueen?s presentation at
Documenta XI in Kassel, Germany received huge critical
acclaim and recent exhibitions include solo shows at the
Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Mus?e d?Art
Moderne, Paris. Steve McQueen has been commissioned by
the Imperial War Museum to make work in response to the
current conflict in Iraq. Steve McQueen's exhibition and related education
programme have been made possible with the generous
support of The Henry Moore Foundation and Vicky Hughes
& John Smith. Steve McQueen is represented by
Marian Goodman Gallery, New York & Paris and Thomas
Dane, London. Images courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery, New
York & Paris | 
