PS:Earth (Post Space:Earth) is a critical artistic inquiry into a contemporary paradox: we invest heavily in space exploration, yet our urgent earthly emergencies – from climate crisis to biodiversity loss – are often neglected. The project approaches this “post-space” mindset as both a symptom and a reflection of our society, asking how technological ambitions, ecological responsibilities, and cultural imagination can (or cannot) coexist. We aim not to dismiss the cosmos, but to reconsider our relationship with it, reminding us of our profound responsibility to the planet we (still) call home.
The notion of a planetary escape is not new – it was always deeply rooted in human history and imagination, stretching from early philosophical ideals to the narratives of science fiction. It represents a recurring fantasy of starting anew, free from the failures and limitations of our current world. In this sense, the pursuit of space colonization can be seen as an extension of humanity’s long-standing quest for utopia, a perfect society built on virgin territory. PS:Earth critically examines this narrative, questioning if our collective fascination with leaving Earth behind is a form of escapism – a way to avoid confronting the urgent and complex crises we’ve created on our home planet. This inquiry is not meant to condemn exploration but to reframe it, urging everyone to reconsider the balance of the immense technological and financial investments and whether they should be redirected toward solving the pressing issues of climate change, inequality, and environmental degradation right here on Earth, in parallel to the funds dedicated to space exploration.
Developed as a transdisciplinary platform, PS:Earth brings together artists, scientists, journalists, and cultural practitioners in an open framework that thrives on exchange, experimentation, and friction. It is a space for co-creation and critical dialogue where ideas collide and converge. Its goal is not to dismiss the cosmos, but to look deeper into the multiplicity of its perspectives and possibilities, to question the fascination with leaving Earth while amplifying the responsibility of staying with it, and seeking to open new ways of thinking about our planetary present and possible futures.
As part of PS:Earth, Space Shelter Earth-B-02 will take shape in Bucharest, hosted by Atelier 030202 from September 17-27, 2025. Conceived by artist Marcus Neustetter and curator Annick Bureaud, Space Shelter Earth is a nomadic and ephemeral installation-artwork, questioning the architectures of space stations and survival habitats through poetic, critical, and collective localised reinterpretation. Each edition is built in situ by a new team, creating a temporary structure that embodies local questions, urgencies, and imaginaries.
For the Bucharest edition, the project’s thread is “Of Nature, Concrete, Cracks and Power”. Trigger questions guide this process: What would you be sheltering from? What languages are spoken in your shelter? Is a plant a shelter, or does it need one? Can cracks become openings of possibility? The team will respond to these and other stimulations, weaving together individual practices and shared perspectives.
In Bucharest, Space Shelter Earth becomes both structure and question: an experimental habitat assembled out of dialogue, contradiction, and imagination, where “space-shelter-earth” is not a fixed notion but an invitation to rethink how we inhabit this planet, here and now. The space will be open to the public, so join the conversation by visiting our co-creative sessions before the final public event on September 27.
Space Shelter Earth served as the foundational artistic inquiry for the PS:Earth project. Conceived as a collaborative artwork, SSE-B-02 in was designed and built in situ, through a process that transformed abstract concepts into tangible, physical structures that embody localized urgencies and imaginaries. The resulting installation was a complex mesh of physical and conceptual layers, inviting visitors to treat the space like a geological terrain waiting to be deciphered.
The physical space was dominated by a large, suspended structure – a makeshift “Vessel” – built from cobbled-together pieces that simultaneously suggested a spacecraft and a sailing ship, depending on one’s perspective. Ultimately, the installation was an exploration of what we truly carry into a survival scenario: not just materials, but culture, memory, and the unseen anthropological components of hope and trauma. It served as a poetic space dedicated to sheltering the human psyche and the accumulated lived experience (Erlebnis).
A subtle but crucial element was “the garden,” a space where both human and non-human elements were sheltered, underscoring the project’s focus on ecological survival and the recovery of memory. Finally, the opening night featured several short actions and activations – ranging from sound experiments to moments of movements – designed to engage the audience, transforming them from observers into active interrogators of the installation’s layers and its final shape.
A Journey through the Stratas of Space Shelter Earth – B-02 – text by Annick Bureaud.
