The famed 1972 “Blue Marble” photograph of Planet Earth viewed from space captured by the Apollo 17 crew offered a breathtaking perspective on our miraculously life-supporting—and ultimately miniscule—shared home. At the same time, it heralded an age in which humans were no longer inextricably bound to Earth. Leaving suddenly became a viable—even, for some, desirable—possibility. The farthest reaches of the universe were suddenly open to study and exploration, as well as extraction and colonization.

 

Fifty years hence, billionaires are pushing luxury rocket rides and claiming that, upon the collapse of terrestrial ecosystems (hastened by the actions/enterprises of said billionaires), colonies on the Moon or Mars are the next frontier.

 

My ongoing Down to Earth series suggests a different vantage point. Small collages made from vintage imagery with the addition of Earth from space are odes to the inner reaches of the place we already are.