the native picture

A Martian panorama from the hand of a robot
2021

the native picture (2021)

In “the native picture”, a robot draws an oversized Martian landscape in a grid of 144 individual images recorded by the NASA Curiosity Mars Rover in an extensive series on Mars.

The overall panoramic grid has a format of 30 meters in width and 7 meters in height. Over a period of three years, the entire panorama grew in a continuous drawing process until the complete picture is finished. Each drawing consists of just a single uninterrupted abstract line that leads to an almost photorealistic landscape view.

On the planet Mars, robots are exploring a landscape that no human has ever set foot on before. The robots' observations are sent to Earth as data and interpreted. This makes the machines both autonomous pioneers in a space reserved for them and media instruments for the exploration of distant worlds by humans.

“the native picture” video.
the native picture (2021)
the native picture (2021)
“the native picture” 2023 in the exhibition “Renaissance 3.0” at ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe.
the native picture (2021)
The original image of the drawing derives from the Mast Camera instrument on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover. The panorama was taken during the mission's 1541nd Martian day (or sol) on September 5, 2016.
the native picture (2021) the native picture (2021)