Docking at ArtScience Museum, Mars: The Red Mirror will launch visitors on an out-of-this-world expedition through 12,000 years of culture, art, history, and science about Mars from ancient times to the present day. The exhibition marks the most comprehensive historical and cultural look at the Red Planet to land in Singapore, featuring over 300 objects, including significant historical artefacts, rare scientific manuscripts, films, contemporary works of art, and even an authentic Martian meteorite.

Having been a subject of fascination over millennia, Mars has captured humankind’s imagination like no other planet. Space agencies from around the world are actively exploring Mars, with three active rover missions currently on the planet, and several manned space missions on the horizon. Mars: The Red Mirror reflects the enduring connection humanity has to the Red Planet by bringing together narratives from pioneering scientists, modern day experts, filmmakers, writers, and contemporary artists who have been exploring Mars through time and across diverse cultures.

First presented in Spain in 2021, Mars: The Red Mirror is curated by Juan Insua of the Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB). The Asian premiere of this exhibition at ArtScience Museum turns its focus to Asia – from showing how Mars was depicted in ancient China, India, and Japan, to highlighting the work of pioneering Asian astronomers, and providing insight into the portrayal of Mars in Southeast Asian pop culture. The exhibition also shows how space agencies from across Asia are scientifically exploring Mars, including Singapore’s own Space Faculty and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The emphasis on Asia provides a more inclusive and comprehensive narrative about humanity’s relationship with Mars, underscoring the significant role that Asia has played – and continues to play – in this collective quest to understand the Red Planet.

Unfolding across three main sections, the design and structure of the exhibition is inspired by the award-winning Mars trilogy – a series of science fiction novels by American writer Kim Stanley Robinson. Titled Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars, these novels feature in the exhibition and chronicle the settlement and terraforming of Mars, demonstrating how science fiction has shaped humankind’s Martian dreams and sowed fantasies about travelling to Mars.

Journeying from ancient myth to what may become a very real future, Mars: The Red Mirror examines humanity’s possible future relationship with Mars in the context of the current ecological crisis facing planet Earth. It poses several crucial questions to visitors: Should humans consider settling on another planet even with the ecological problems on Earth? And is Mars being sought as an escape, or as a mirror that reflects the challenges that must be addressed on this planet?

“We embark on an extraordinary journey across space and time, exploring the enigmatic allure of Mars. Of all the astronomical bodies in the night sky, Mars has held a special fascination for humanity through the ages. Mars: The Red Mirror shines a light on the Red Planet at a critical moment, where space agencies around the world are planning missions to Mars,” said Honor Harger, Vice-President of ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands.

“The Centre for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB) is very proud to collaborate with ArtScience Museum with the exhibition Mars: The Red Mirror, an invitation to delve into the powerful image of Mars. The show is a cultural journey to the Red Planet that begins with the ancient myth of the god of war and, since the 19th century, has been a rich seam for scientific observation, geopolitical struggle, and science fiction until it has become, today, a mirror of our wounded planet. The exhibition is an adventure for the imagination and a new fruitful and beautiful exploration of the crossroads between the sciences and the humanities,” said Judit Carrera, Director of Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona.

Mars: The Red Mirror takes an interdisciplinary approach to Mars, blending art, science, and history. It also serves as an educational platform which will inspire both children and the young at heart, to explore space science and astronomy. By including Asian astronomical history and contemporary art, the exhibition offers a unique perspective that resonates with diverse audiences, particularly in the Asian context. The exhibition begins with two objects: a fragment of a Martian meteorite found in the Sahara Desert in 2010, and The Moment, an artwork by renowned artist Katie Paterson. The handblown hourglass measures 15 minutes of time using dust containing Martian dust, asteroids, fragments of meteorites and materials from exploding stars. The journey continues with a timeline of the history of Mars from the Big Bang, 13.78 billion years ago, to the first image of Earth taken from Mars in 2004.

The exhibition continues by showing how humanity’s relationship with the Red Planet has evolved. In the distant past, planets were considered mysterious spheres in the sky and were regarded as mystical symbols or gods. Mars has been consistently represented as a god of war across history – going by different names in different cultures, including Nergal, Mangala, Harmakhis, Auqakuh and Ares. Mars in Ancient Cultures illustrates these depictions and interpretations of Mars across cultures and civilisations.

On display are sculptures of Mars from Greek and Roman mythology. In ancient Greece, Ares was the deity who held ultimate power over all war-related matters, embodying the spirit of masculinity. He possessed unparalleled strength that could become lethal if not subjected to restraint and reason by a higher order. In ancient Rome, Ares was known as Mars, retaining the attributes of his Greek counterpart while acquiring the status of a god. Though often depicted as a warrior, Mars was not just a Romanised Ares. He was also an agricultural deity, embodying the life-giving energy of spring, and was worshipped for the physical and spiritual protection of crops.

Mars was also highly revered in ancient Asian cultures. In India, Mars was referred to as Mangala and regarded as a warrior god. In ancient Chinese art, Mars and the other planets were represented as deities closely associated with either the 12 houses of the zodiac or primary elements. A synthesis of both Chinese and Indian influences can be observed in ancient Japan through the depictions of Mars in relation to Buddhism. Visitors can view paintings, drawings and ancient artefacts which feature Mars as a celestial being rooted in various Asian religions.

In the 2nd century, mathematician and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy devised a theory that the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars orbited the Earth. His “geocentric model” of the universe remained widely accepted for 1,300 years, until scholar Nicolaus Copernicus challenged it, proving that the Earth itself moved around the Sun. The Copernican Revolution began in the 16th century and ushered in a new understanding of humankind’s place in the universe. Visitors will be able to view Copernicus’ revolutionary “heliocentric model” which depicted the Sun being positioned at the centre of the solar system, with planets orbiting around it.

The second section of the exhibition explores how captivating stories about Mars have shaped our understanding of the planet and our relationship to it. Towards the end of the 19th Century, the mythology of Mars as a god was challenged by a more scientific understanding of the planet. This set the stage for a collision between science fact and science fiction, which resulted in new narratives that continued into the 20th Century.

Here, visitors can learn about the astronomers, engineers and inventors who examined Mars and laid the foundations for modern astronautics. Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli was an early pioneer of making maps of Mars. The exhibition presents two maps of his famous 1877 observations of the Red Planet. They include drawings of a network of linear structures he observed on the surface of Mars that he termed ‘canali’. This was mistranslated into English as ‘canals’, implying that they were artificial. This mistranslation gave rise to a wave of theories and speculation about the possibility of intelligent life existing on the Red Planet.

This section also showcases Mars in science fiction literature and film, including a display on the most famous Martian invasion story, The War of the Worlds, by English writer H. G. Wells. The 1898 novel depicts intelligent creatures from Mars which attack England and are eventually killed off by a bacterial infection. The exhibition features physical copies of early editions alongside vivid drawings by artist Henrique Alvim-Correa. The exhibition also presents the iconic radio broadcast of the story by Orson Welles in 1938. His dramatic reading of the events depicted in the novel sowed panic amongst radio audiences who believed it was an actual emergency announcement. Additionally, the invention of the radio brought with it new means of searching for life on Mars. Many believed that radio waves were being emitted from Mars, fueled by the ongoing discussions about the possibility of artificial canals on the Red Planet.

During the 20th century, Martian imagery began to appear in pulp magazines and comics. Published against the backdrop of colonisation and globalisation, countries in Asia began taking inspiration from the Western world, and developed a fascination with Mars. Popular Western characters such as Flash Gordon, Mickey Mouse, and Casper the Friendly Ghost were adapted by Asian comic book artists who wrote stories of these characters going to Mars. In Japan, writers ideated unique and original characters in relation to Martian narratives, such as Sailor Mars in the influential manga series Sailor Moon. One of the highlights of the show is a collection of over 60 rare Indonesian science fiction comics depicting Mars. While some were adapted from American cartoon stories and characters, others feature original narratives by Indonesian comic book artists that blended imagery of Mars with local cultural practices such as ‘wayang’, the traditional Indonesian shadow puppet tradition.

By the end of the 20th century, Mars had become a deep-seated influence for science fiction cinema, television, and music in Asia and the West. A dedicated cinema within the gallery will screen a line-up of films and documentaries about Mars, ranging from movies that dominated suburban drive-in cinemas to an episode of American astronomer Carl Sagan’s famous television series Cosmos, which explores the search for Martian life.

The last section of Mars: The Red Mirror turns its attention to the present. With a focus on the climate emergency that threatens Earth, it surfaces crucial dilemmas of humanity’s present and future – whether to preserve its one and only home, or to migrate to outer space in search of a ‘Planet B’. Artworks by well-known contemporary artists from around the world also invite contemplation on the climate crisis and dreams of a multiplanetary life.

Major highlights include a large four-metre inflatable sculpture of Mars by British artist Luke Jerram that features detailed NASA imagery of the Martian surface, and a triptych titled starbase by German artist and adventurer Michael Najjar. The artwork presents the futuristic new spaceport currently under construction by SpaceX in South Texas which is likely to be the site of the first manned mission to Mars. Michael Najjar is one of several artists around the world who have undertaken astronaut training in order to document the development of manned space exploration.

Austrian photographer Florian Voggeneder has also trained in a space agency as part of his multiyear investigation into astronautic space travel. The Kepler Station by Voggeneder depicts a scientific Mars simulation conducted to gain insights for future manned missions to the planet. A simulated space station was built in Oman and became the habitat for a group of space researchers for one month. To qualify to be part of the Mars-analogue simulation, Voggeneder had to complete a multi-month educational and physical programme at the Austrian Space Forum and participate in research studies and various space science experiments. Additionally, the gallery presents Asian artists and their approach to Mars, including Venzha Christ, founder of the Indonesia Space Science Society, who presents an installation exploring Indonesian attitudes to space exploration.

The artworks in the exhibition also question whether it is ethical to send humans to other worlds. This includes The Wilding of Mars, a video installation by British artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg. Portraying the growth of a wild garden on Mars that is thriving over millennia, the plants seeded with Earth’s life forms are shown spreading north from the South Pole of Mars, developing an ecosystem determined by global and local parameters of water, temperature and nutrients. Here, the work is presented as two simulations running in parallel, implying the potential of endless possible worlds which challenge the assumption that the outcome of space exploration must end in human benefit. As plant life takes Mars in a different direction, Mars also impacts Earth lifeforms in its own unique ways.

The final galleries of the exhibition also spotlight international scientific missions to Mars. The exhibition provides insight into the important role Singapore plays in space exploration, highlighting the work of Space Faculty, led by Lynette Tan from Singapore. By championing space technology’s transformative potential, Space Faculty plans to expand the space economy in Asia. The exhibition features a scientific experiment by Space Faculty and Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) which explores how plants may grow in Martian soil. A terrarium in the gallery compares the growth of plants in normal soil with soil designed to simulate the conditions on Mars.

The exhibition ends with Marsonauts by Swiss artist Nero Cosmos. Using an AI algorithm, Cosmos creates unique images of astronauts that he calls “marsonauts”. He is creating a new “marsonaut” image every day until the first astronaut steps foot on Mars. He has taken a culturally inclusive approach to creating his “marsonaut” images by using diverse source images to train his AI algorithm. He believes anyone and anything can become a “marsonaut” regardless of race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, class, sexual orientation, or age. The four “marsonaut” that feature at the end the exhibition are named Marco, Sarah, Wei and Olga.

Mars: The Red Mirror extends ArtScience Museum’s Season of Science Fiction with a comprehensive slate of educational activities including talks, tours, drop-in activities, a film season titled In Search of Tomorrow, and a symposium. From 4th December, visitors aged 7 and above can also embark on a quest within the exhibition to discover the wonders of the Red Planet. By scanning a QR code at the entrance, visitors can kickstart their expedition to explore ancient sculptures and paintings as well as learn about notable figures, space missions and Mars itself through fun facts, games and quizzes.

“This is an exhibition that not only explores our nearest planetary neighbour but also highlights the uniqueness and special qualities of our own planet. Mars: The Red Mirror also blends art and science, offering a new perspective on both Mars and Earth. It invites visitors to contemplate our past, present, and future in the cosmos, at a time when the exploration of Mars is more relevant than ever,” said Honor Harger, Vice-President of ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands.

Mars: The Red Mirror runs from 25th November 2023 to 7th April 2024 at the ArtScience Museum. Tickets and more information available here