Conference "Déregarder l’imagerie spatiale : une étude critique des fondations coloniales de l’exploration du cosmos (Unseeing space imagery: a critical study of the colonial foundations of space exploration)", with Joël Vacheron.

‘Nothing is less rational, finally, than the pretension that a specific cosmic vision of a particular ethnicity should be taken as universal rationality,’ says Anibal Quijano. In the same vein, this publication defends the hypothesis that space expansionism has universalised a vision of the Earth and the cosmos - what we call cosmovision - which is not universally shared. The images produced as part of the American space programme since the Second World War—in particular The Blue Marble and Earthrise—are global emblems of this perspective on the world assembled, perceived and framed through the eyes of a homo oeconomicus. As in the days of the first transatlantic explorations, the rise of the steam engine or the conquest of the West, the exploration and material exploitation of outer space continue to be seen as a ‘natural’ development carried out on behalf of all humanity. Based on an original methodology inspired by visual studies and decolonial studies, this publication aims to demonstrate why space expansionism is inseparable from the ecocidal and genocidal programmes carried out at the advent of globalised markets. Using a wide range of visual references, this research proposes to ‘de-look’ at spatial imagery, as it ‘perpetuates coloniality in the postcolonial world’ (Niang and Suaudeau).

This conference is being held in the context of the booklaunch of Joël Vacheron, Cosmovisions : une étude visuelle des fondements coloniaux de l'exploration spatiale, Geneva, Métis Presses, 2025.

Joël Vacheron (PhD) is a professor and researcher at the École Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne (ECAL), where he teaches visual culture and media studies. As an independent journalist, he regularly collaborates on editorial projects in the areas of art and photography.