Ultraplanets is a fictional astronomical atlas created by manipulating NASA’s archive. Like every atlas, however, it is only a reduction of reality. As for the Mercator effect, the map often becomes so real that no one challenges it. And yet hardly anyone has seen in person another planet than Earth, nor a black hole, nor the sun.
The series dissects and recombines publicly available images to create new imaginary worlds. The process involves several stages, from simple digital manipulation to darkroom printing using experimental methods. Instead of traditional chemicals, the photos are developed using homemade formulas based on plants such as coffee, tea, or rooibos.