Peter Weibel

In the 26-part conceptual photo series »Navigationssysteme« [Navigation Systems], the reproduction of the starry sky is steadily enlarged until only abstract forms can be seen. In the reverse direction, the letters of a text are enlarged by reproducing it until only abstract particles are seen. In the middle of these processes the signs overlap, so that the impression is created that from the stars letters emerge and, finally, the sentence »Sterne sind weiße Buchstaben auf der schwarzen Seite des Himmels, Buchstaben sind schwarze Sterne auf dem weißen Himmel der Seite« [»Stars are white letters on the black page of the sky letters are black stars on the white page of the sky«]. Peter Weibel shows that stars as well as letters are navigation systems.

For just as travellers oriented themselves for centuries to the stars, today we navigate the world with the aid of signs and characters. Weibel therefore defines writing as the original medium, as our first tool with which we can navigate through space and time beyond the boundaries of the hic et nunc of natural perception. Writing continues the work of the stars. It helps us to orient ourselves in the night of the cosmos and to discover worlds.