Zoned Present
Archival satellite images, photographic records of the sky | Metal, wood structure, electronics
2021
2021
Zoned Present is a series of works responding to the invisible human construction and intersections of time zones. The project employs an antenna to receive signals from satellites orbiting beyond Earth’s atmosphere. These satellites operate according to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) or UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) as standardized temporal references. In this sense, time becomes fragmented—dispersed into floating pieces across the sky—since each satellite orbits within a realm where territorial boundaries and time zones cease to exist.
On the ground, I attempt to capture and decode transmissions from weather satellites (NOAA 15, NOAA 18) that occasionally pass through the GMT zone (London) in space. Simultaneously, I photograph the sky from the opposite margin on Earth. By juxtaposing these two perspectives—one from above and one from below—I bring together viewpoints that search for each other yet can never meet. Through this act of cross-referencing, the work defines a fleeting volume and moment of the “present.”
