Wenhan Dou | On the Way back : A Narrative Installation

 
The installation recreates an office desk in 1992. It’s based on a true event that when the Soviet Union dissolute and a Soviet astronaut was trapped in the space station for a longer time then he expected and he had no clue of dates to go back. The desk is an office desk on the ground control center where his information is kept. There are different media and objects on the desks that contain certain information including the tapes with the astronaut’s voice messages, a newspaper with a report on this event, some documents about the space station, and some office supplies. By looking through these objects audience can make up this complete story. The experience of sitting on the desk and listening to voice messages from the astronaut trapped in space aims to bring an immersive feeling and empathy of isolation, loneliness, and loss of identity of the astronaut.