Ilhas Studio — Staring Into the Night
Design for Staring Into the Night, a book that brings together Amélie Bouvier’s research and artistic work inspired by astronomical stories and the history of observing the sky, from the late 19th century to the present day.
Inspired by the importance of stars and family memory, the book was made with two different types of paper. On one, we see delicate photographic images and on the other we see Bouvier’s work, which spans areas such as drawing, installation, and video. The book adopts the original measurements of the photographic glass plates and presents a superimposition of elements that are gradually thickened – if the Harvard astronomical archive begins with a 10% grid, by the end it is clearly visible in a 100% grid, a metaphor for the discovery of these photographic plates and the women who made them.
Due to their gender, women were not able to work at night, and these glass plates were what enabled them to study the sky. This was fundamental to the construction and concept of this book, which seeks to see the night during the day.
Amélie has taken a particular interest in the collection of astronomical photographic glass plates from the Harvard College Observatory in the United States. These plates, made mostly by women, have fuelled her imagination over the last five years and form the basis of her most recent projects, which explore the history of observation, our attachment to representation, the scientific imaginary, and the issues that shape our collective memory and heritage.
By focussing her research on astronomy and its history, Amélie Bouvier's work aims to highlight our contemporary relationship with the narratives that emerge from scientific technologies and our need to represent them. Through drawing, installation, video, and objects, Amélie uses facts and stories to understand the malleability of reality through the fascinating evolution of astronomical aesthetics.
In addition to her relationship with the Harvard College of Observatory collection, Amélie also had a family relationship with the subject through her grandfather, who also had a fascination with the skies. In this way, the publication Staring Into The Night crosses Amélie's family narrative with the photographic collection of women astronomers and the work of the artist.