The Lunar System

In The Lunar System, artist Hanna Mattes interweaves reality and mythology by juxtaposing photographs taken in Chile with autofictional poems. Basing her views on the planetary system of our galaxy, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter give structure to her life: already as a teenager, Mattes and her friends gave each other as well as family members and loved ones secret planetary nicknames. In 2017, she spent a residency in the Atacama Desert photographing the night sky, sunsets, and moon-rises. She also stumbled upon the ancient mythology of the Licanantai, the Indigenous people of this region. Reminded of her own planetary system, she began to perform her subjective mythology, starring as actor, poet, photographer, and director at once. The main role however has the Moon, the center of the system, expressed through autofiction, painted-on negatives, and romantic poetry.