Kitchen and Ogasian in the Field Grey Island Merritt Island Florida USA Image Kitchen and Ogasian Photo by Jessina Leonard

Planetary Infrastructures Terrestrial Ecologies: Non-Formulaic Artistic Research

Authors: Shona Kitchen, University of Bolzano; Aly Ogasian, Scripps College

Abstract

This work presents an artistic research practice using adaptive, non-formulaic methodologies to investigate planetary infrastructures, terrestrial ecologies, and space exploration mythologies. Situated between contemporary art, environmental humanities, and science and technology studies, the research develops narratives linking distant sites shaped by satellite communication, launch systems, and planetary imaginaries. Space infrastructures are treated as culturally and ecologically charged environments where planetary ambition intersects with fragile ecosystems. The work unfolds through long-term, embedded processes combining fieldwork, material experimentation, and public exchange. Collaborations with scientists generate hybrid knowledge that resists disciplinary boundaries. By foregrounding the ecological entanglements of space infrastructures on Earth, the paper challenges myths of progress and expansion, proposing artistic inquiry oriented toward care, coexistence, and more-than-human futures.