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MATTIA BALSAMINI | IT

PROTEGE NOCTEM

About the project

Blinded by billions of artificial lights, the night sky has become a tainted canvas for us, an unknown phenomenon. 83% of the world’s population has never seen the Milky Way. In cities like Shanghai, where the world’s largest astronomy museum recently opened, ninety-five percent of stars are now invisible. Public lighting, windows, street lamps and even LED headlights emit blue spectrum light that dazzles the nocturnal ecosystem and damages the human circadian cycle, our interplay of sleep and wakefulness, promoting the onset of diseases such as breast and prostate cancer, diabetes and depression.

Natural life itself appears to have been harshly affected: migratory birds veer off course, plant leaves no longer sense the onset of winter, and many insects face extinction: this is why defending the darkness represents the vanguard in the ongoing ecological battle to avert apocalypse. The exhibition is supported by the Ortsbürgerkulturkommission Lenzburg.

Biography

Mattia Balsamini is a visual artist focused on documenting technology and its social implications. He has carried out personal and editorial projects in collaboration with institutions such as MIT, NASA, Charitè University Berlin and the University of Zurich.

Planned Guided Tours

Saturday, May 25, 2024
10:15 AM and 2.45 PM

Sunday, May 26, 2024
2:45 PM

Location

Dammweg 19

Address
Dammweg 19
5600 Lenzburg

Opening hours
Thu-Fri: 2-5 PM
Sat-Sun: 10 AM – 5 PM