CHICAGO, Illinois - THE MISSION is pleased to announce The Third Expedition, an exhibition of recent work by Argentina-based artist Erica Bohm. In her first solo show at THE MISSION, Bohm presents three compelling series of photographs that investigate human knowledge of outer space. She employs imagery from varied source materials – from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) to popular culture and the Science Fiction genre to images that she photographed at the Houston NASA facility – to examine notions of science, astronomy, time travel, and the origin of the universe. Working in a combination of digital and analog photography, she explores the relationship between science and art, and constructs a visual narrative that comments on the tension between fiction and reality.

“For most of us, our knowledge of outer space is second-hand. These scientific ‘facts’ are learned through the pages of a book, the television screen and the computer display — a conglomeration of ‘evidence’ that, for the average person, is impossible to verify with our own eyes. This science is the kind that sparks the imagination with a mixture of fact, mystery and intrigue perfectly poised for artistic interpretation. Contributing to the lineage created by the generations of science fiction storytellers before her, Erica Bohm thrives in this uncertain context of fact and fiction, of the testaments of the select few scientific authorities and the fantastical speculation of great artistic minds. This exhibition, ‘The Third Expedition,’ is an ode to the artist’s lifelong love of the science fiction genre, as well as a reference to the way we use our imaginations to lessen the physical and conceptual distance that we have from the true subject matter.”

-Robin Dluzen

The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated brochure, featuring an essay by artist and art critic Robin Dluzen.