"The Lone Female Cosmonaut" Is Alive And Well In The Work Of Artist Aleksandra Domanovic

Now that sci-fi nostalgia has bled into her latest exhibition, Thinks To Come, recently was shown at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art as part of Glasgow International, artist Aleksandra Domanovic can recall seeing The Fly at 5-years-old as a formative experience (she recalls it as ‘terrifying’).

For the showing, the Slovenian artist, by way of Berlin, has hung seven animation cells filled with 3D models inspired by sci-fi film stills. A common thread runs throughout—the stills relate to female characters, whether they're of Sigourney Weaver wearing her Power Loader suit in Aliens, orthe International Space Station rendered Gravity, with Sandra Bullock.

Using “the lone female cosmonaut” as a loose theme for her new work, Things To Come ties into the history of technology from a woman’s perspective. We spoke to Domanovic about switchboards, 3D modelling, and why women can’t (yet) time travel.

The Creator’s Project: The name of this piece is Things to Come. Why did you want to start there?

Aleksandra Domanovic: That’s where I ended up. The piece is named after the British sci-fi film from 1936, written by H. G. Wells. All of these things or objects which I made 3D models of are objects. One image is the Power Loader from Aliens. One could read it in many ways.

The seven animation cells hanging from the ceiling.

Yes. There are seven because there was architectural possibility between the columns, but each of the prints are of 3D models, which I commissioned someone to make. Others are bought as stock images from 3D model libraries. Four were commissioned and three were bought and then adjusted. We added some textures, different lighting… There are many components in 3D and design.

How did this series begin?

I started with the idea of the films first, put screen shots of these images online, and sent the images to the 3D modeller, who, on the basis of the images, created them in 3D software. The stock images, the Power Loader, for example, is so present popular in pop culture as is. I found it as a 3D model, we adapted it, I added a little bird sitting on top. The 3D space station was also found.

What is the relation in the work between sci-fi, space travel and ‘the lone woman cosmonaut?’

From the conversations I had with the curator, that’s what she made of it. There’s no real conclusion to it. To me, it’s a continuation of a show I had at Tanya Leighton Gallery called The Future Was at Her Fingertips. For that show, I made a 3D model of a hand which was an early example of a prosthetic hand developed in Belgrade. I realized the hand was used as a prop fin a sci-fi film called Demon Seed in 1977. That’s how I got on the topic of science fiction. In this particular movie, artificial intelligence takes over this old robot which uses this hand. It captures the scientist’s wife in the house and then the AI wants to have a baby so it rapes this woman and she gives birth to a child with the AI.

The pod was from Prometheus, a Ridley Scott film which is supposed to be a prequel to Alien. There’s a surgical device in the film and there’s a point where the main character is pregnant with the alien, escapes and types in c-section and the machine says ‘Sorry, this machine has been programmed for a male user.’ In the end, she manages to get the machine to help her get rid of the baby. The movie wasn’t so good but that was my favourite scene.

You later added a letter to your recreation of the pod. In one piece, you also included a rejection letter from Disney to a female cartoonist from 1935. Why? 

At first, the project was just going to be these models. As I figured out what materials to use, I thought about foils, I made sketches and models. My boyfriend said it reminded him of old animation cells. That’s how it came to the letter, and then it all made sense.

If I'm not mistaken, there seems to be a hint of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves? The wheelchair with the apple.

That’s a reference to Snow White. Alan Turing’s Apple is the name of that piece. He was obsessed with the tale of Snow White, and died from what was supposed to be a cyanide-poisoned apple. A lot of apples appear throughout the show.

And even a hint of anime. Why did you give the model with the coat an iridescent look?

That’s supposed to be the jacket from Blade Runner. Projected on it is a girl, the main character of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time–one of the rare instances in cinema when the female character gets to time travel. There was recently an article in the Guardian called "Why Can’t Women Time Travel?" It was a critique of a film where only men were allowed to time travel, often, the girlfriend never gets to come along in time travel, too.

Is it a limitation? 

Yes. It’s a lot about role models and having the possibility to identify with a character.

And what about the DVD library in the show?

From the beginning, I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting to curate a collection of films that passed the Alison Bechdel Test. To be included, a film must have at least two women with names in it, talking about something other than a man. You can’t take it seriously, but it does mean something. In Sweden, it was adapted as an official rating, if the film passes the Bechdel test or not. I thought it would be interesting to create a collection of films that have passed the test. I realized there would be one film, Alien…

And then I realized, it’s not really about that. I’m a sci-fi fan myself, but I don’t watch films just because of female characters.

Or because they're sci-fi?

Exactly. I started a conversation with Dr. Leonie Cooper from Melbourne who is a specialist in science fiction and Disney. It’s an open library where we didn’t have a theme or category to curate the library, but the processes of our conversation, which were very associative.

What is your relationship to animation, anyways? Is it nostalgic?

Something nostalgic would be science fiction. My mom is a big sci-fi fan so I saw all these films as a child. I didn’t watch Disney as a kid because we didn’t have it. I was watching Polish cartoons and Sci-fi cinema. I was 5 when we watched The Fly in the cinema. It was traumatic. At the time, a lot of great sci-fi was out, Star Wars, Alien… They were really good films, but not because they were sci-fi.

How do you feel your work connects with the space?

I found out the attic of GOMA was the first telephone central in Glasgow. All the women were there working on switchboards, like robots switching calls. This ties into the Future is at Her Fingertips show–which is a quote from Sadie Plant. She says when typewriters came, women were the secretaries. When telephones came, women were operating the switchboards. So, literally, the future was at her fingertips.

See more of Domanovic’s work on the Tanya Leighton Gallery website and check out a review of her opening show. 

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