Send Me Sky, Henrietta pays homage to the work of Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1968-1921), an American astronomer who was largely underrecognized during her lifetime. Leavitt’s most important work came out of analyzing photographs of pulsating stars in distant galaxies. Observing a star’s brightness, and how quickly it changes, she determined a way to accurately measure distance on an inter-galactic scale. Others built on Leavitt’s work to eventually prove that the universe is expanding.
Send Me Sky, Henrietta incorporates film shot at Harvard College Observatory, where Leavitt made her important discoveries. Similarly, the projected film also flickers, sending out quick bursts of light through individual frames, weaving together astronomy and cinema—two ways of looking at light that give rise to new understandings of time and space.
Send Me Sky, Henrietta, 2018
35mm film sculpture, silent; 6.20 min
Images 1, 2, 3: Film still © Rosa Barba
Image 4: Installation view at Remai Modern, Canada, 2018. Photo: Blaine Campbell © Rosa Barba
Send Me Sky, 2018 has been on display at the following locations:
DZ BANK Kunststiftung, Frankfurt am Main, 2023
Remai Modern, Saskatoon, 2018
Malmö Art Academy, Gallery KHM1, Malmö, 2018