Lunar archaeology

{ Lunar Landscapes Today is a monthly survey of ecology, archaeology and geology on the Moon. It features a diverse collection of original selenograms of extant lunar species and their habitats, ancient fossils and historical artifacts. }

{ Selenogram imaging occurs at the Artemis Artist Residency Photography Lab, Lunar South Pole Base II, where prints are made in situ with a Selena 7M800 sensor and etched on obsidian plates for reproduction. }

I developed this generative drawing technique with Processing. The program attempts to trace the silhouette of an image with a fine line, like the trail of an ant wandering across its surface.

Repeating the process thousands of times, the lines build up and the object’s dimensionality reemerges as a ghostly mirage of its original form.

I was inspired by how everyday surfaces are transformed by the process but retain an eerie, dreamlike familiarity — and started imagining an alternative timeline of lunar exploration that would place the drawings as speculative artifacts.