Space10 Showcasing Flags to be Planted on the Red Planet

Last year, at the International Astronautical Congress, Elon Musk claimed that SpaceX will send humans to Mars by 2024. This inspired Bas van de Poel and Marc Vermeeren of Matter to consider what the potential flags that would be planted on the virgin Red Planet would look like and represent. Fifty years ago, when the Americans first stepped on the moon, the Apollo team brought with them the Lunar Flag Assembly, a flag kit which represented the nation’s feat. The Matter duo have declared that “it’s time to conceptualize and create a consensus around the martian flag that will represent all of mankind.”

Seven artists have been selected to be apart of the Martian Flag Assembly exhibition in Denmark’s capital, which will exploring ideas of politics, hope, unity and achievement. The artists Bráulio Amado, Hassan Rahim, Johanna Burai, Timo Lenzen, Jena Myung, Golgotha and Builders Club were given only the dimensions of the flag, while the design was completely left up to them to develop. The gallery will reinforce Red Planet themes by installing red lasers, a haze machine and ambient techno. Matter collaborated with Bureau Cool to create an interactive website which uses WebGL to bring the flags to life for those who cannot make it to the exhibition. The show will open this Friday, June 15th at Space10 in Copenhagen, and will close on June 22nd.

Words: Paola de Oliveira