Under the same Moon: A synchronous collection and exchange of Matter, Micro-Landscapes and Meaning across continents

Research Project
Under the same Moon: A synchronous collection and exchange of Matter, Micro-Landscapes and Meaning across continents
Led and curated by Duarte Santo (Cornell University), Corinna Dean (University of Westminster), Deepta Sateesh (Manipal Academy of Higher Education).
Synchronous Collection Window: October 4th (Fri) – October 8th (Tue) 2024 (Centered on the Full Moon, October 6th). Material Curation & Documentation Deadline: October 15th. Exhibition Opening: October 22nd, Periscope | Microscope Gallery, London, UK. Tues 4 Nov, round table discussion at Microscope Gallery joined on line by Duarte and Deepta, to discuss “Liminal Listening” Concepts: Colonial vs. Non-Colonial Linguistic Framing

This project is an act of collaborative research-creation, connecting three distinct landscapes across the globe through a shared moment in time. We are investigating the materiality of place, the concept of deep time, and the invisible ecological processes that shape our world.

Under the light of the same full moon, students in New York, London, and Bengaluru become collectors, archivists, and storytellers, gathering micro-landscapes from three critical sites:

Seneca Meadows Landfill, NY, USA:
A landscape of anthropogenic accumulation and waste, a monument to our contemporary consumption and its long-term geological implications. A negative hydrology where water is the problem to be solved, the carrier of toxicity, and the agent of potential environmental risk.

River Lee, London, UK:
An urban waterway, a site of historical memory, ecological contestation, and constant flow amidst a dense human environment.

Gantiganahalli “Kere” (Lake/Reservoir), Bengaluru, India:
A vital temporal water body and system reflecting cycles of monsoon, drought, urban pressure, and agricultural reliance.

By collecting these materials simultaneously, we create a “snapshot” of the Earth’s skin at a specific celestial moment. The petri dish becomes a portable plot of land, a lens, and a canvas. This exercise asks participants to think across scales: from the planetary (the moon’s pull) to the territorial (the site) to the microscopic (the sample itself).

06/11/2025