The laser chat installation is a continuation of Astrovandalistas’ previous research about private networks and affective communication. It is also a practical demonstration of how to reinterpret and reimagine space technologies for more terrestrial uses. It is based on a couple of NASA projects that use light to transmit data over large distances (LLCD, LCRD, OPALS).

The laser chat is part of Imaginario Inverso, an ongoing investigation into the effects of the industrialization of our social imaginary through the commercialization of scientific knowledge. The project draws links between the ontological origins of science and personal explorations that tried to describe the natural world, and proposes a framework for reflecting on the geopolitics of technology development and possibilities for reinterpreting these technologies for more personal and collective uses.

The laser chat installation was prototyped in the lab during the month of October, and was later shown as part of the Territory of The Imagination exhibition at the Rubin Center in El Paso, Texas.