This is a photo-montage printed at A3 scale using the Pioneer Plaque designed by Carl Sagan, Frank Drake and Linda Salzman Sagan, overlaid onto a salvaged mannequin with a colour block background. This edition uses mustard, though other editions include charcoal, black, red, chalkboard with scientific notation, and the Milky Way at varying levels of focus and intensity.

The Pioneer Plaque was launched into deep space aboard the Pioneer 10 and 11 probes in 1972 and 1973 as a universal message from humanity to extraterrestrial life. By re-siting this image over the face of a mannequin – an object that already symbolises the commodified human form – the piece questions how we construct and transmit our image of ourselves, and whether that identity has itself become alien in the fifty years since.

Anatomy of the piece:

The hydrogen transition: On the plaque, this represented the hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen, intended as a universal standard of measurement. On the mannequin, their placement suggests a pair of eyes or glasses – shifting scientific data into the register of vision, surveillance, and perception.

The radial pulsar map: Originally a galactic locator pointing to Earth, these lines now sit across the mannequin’s jawline, evoking a mouth emitting sound waves. The navigational system becomes a metaphor for language, projection, and voice.
The human figures: Conceived as neutral depictions of male and female humanity, they now appear as tattoos inscribed on the side of the mannequin’s head – internalised ideals, or projected memories of what humanity chose to show or wanted to be seen as.

Interpretation

In its original context, the plaque was both an act of generosity and hubris: an attempt to say “this is who we are” to unknown others. On the mannequin it becomes less about communication outward and more about self-reflection inward. The faceless figure wears humanity’s chosen self-image like a mask, its blank surface overlaid with schematic certainty. What was once a universal message becomes a commentary on representation, commodification, and the gap between lived humanity and the images we construct. The mannequin itself becomes the Pioneer craft – replaying humanity’s broadcast not into the stars, but back to ourselves.