Performance

The SR premiered her first performance at the fairgrounds in Thermopolis WY, where she followed the line of the first-ever walk humans did on the moon, e.g. the Apollo 11 mission of 1969. This line was drawn into the sand of the rodeo arena. In the performance, the SR re-traces the exact outline of the Apollo11 moonwalk, which the NASA astronauts trekked when landing on the lunar surface in 1969. Up to this day, this is still the furthest path away from earth, humans have ever walked. The SR then plants her flag relative to where the astronauts planted the US flag on the moon, poses next to the flag and then leaves the arena again. What she carries with her is her own painted flag, showing stars, worlds and herself on her horse, the medieval emblem of European enchantment. It’s her personal emblem, a symbol of her interstellar selfhood and mission.

The SR was invited to do the same performance at the center for the Arts in Jackson Hole WY. During this time the “The Hole”, a documentary of the Solar Eclipse and the SpaceRider Performance at the Rodeo Grounds, was filmed. The Premier was in 2021 at the Guesthouse in Jackson Hole, Camille Obering Fine Arts.

Matthew Day Jackson about the performance at the center for the arts: “How the continuation of this form, a horse as a vehicle and how the Space Rider is making the tracing of an event that’s the furthest we’ve ever been from Earth, is a really nice continuation of that evolvement of civilization.”

Premier of “The nearest faraway Place” at the Staedtische Galerie Wolfsburg. The SR retraces the outline of the former Berlin Wall and revisits several locations of historic tragedy. The actual performance is filmed with a Drohne at back entrance of the Olympic stadium in Berlin.The line of the former wall is taped on the ground with fluorescent pink and orange tape.

Ati Maier: ”I take this specific line and put it somewhere else. When I re-trace this path on a different territory, it becomes a map for exploration of theoretical and imaginary spaces. I lived in Berlin from 1987 -1998 and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and this experience has deeply influenced my consciousness as a reflection of the world we live in. I try to address the fundamental issues of our time and ask to consider what the world might look like without walls; I propose to consider something infinitely more grand, humanitarian, and cosmic in nature. I also remind of the costs of ignoring history and continuing on a path of divide, which only ever leads to war and strife.’’