The artist appropriates a TV sequence accompanying the launch of a space rocket. The images capture the unfolding of a phenomenon of intense heat and power, which seem to dissolve the target horizon and leave the ‘common ground’ of the title in ruins. The work reveals the strong dose of propaganda and spectacle behind the event, which is clearly developmentalist in character, whilst exploring its disturbing visual power. The absence of sound counters the material force of the moving image and lends a sublime character to the explosion.
