— Incoming transmission —

Messagesfrom Space

"Still here, 100 years on. Still material, still creative, still caring for each other." — Liz, 2126 ▶

// Images
A planet sculpture that has drippy bits and is illuminated A planet sculpture that has drippy bits A planet sculpture that has 2 moons A planet sculpture that has a large eye on the side A woman reaching for illuminated planet sculptures. A woman holding a vintage walkman A woman holding a vintage walkman A view of a building at Bombay Beach A view of a building at Bombay Beach A view of a building at Bombay Beach The circuit board that is used to detect cosmic rays Sofy at UABB

Cosmic rays activate stories
about humanity's near-far future

Messages from Space is an immersive installation where cosmic rays (real, high-energy particles from deep space) activate sculptural instruments, responding to each impact with light, sound, and a science fiction narrative. Participants receive the transmissions over FM radio on vintage walkmans, completing a time travel loop: 1985 hardware tuned to voices from 2126.

// Timeline
August 2011
Sophi experiments with gamma ray detection, designing hardware which detects gamma rays and transmits 4 sound samples.
January 2025
Messages project begins with cosmic ray hardware design by Sophi Kravitz.
August 2025
Sofy Yuditskaya (PhD) and Ria Rajan (MS) join the project.
September 2025 / Playtest 1
Artwalk Kingston, open studios. Kingston, NY. Ambient sound is tested as a layer to the cosmic rays.
October 2025 / Playtest 2
Chabot Space and Science Center, Oakland, CA. Chasing Wonder conference. Ollie Tanner, fabricator, joins the project.
January 2026 / Playtest 3
10th annual Shenzhen-Hong Kong Biennale. Messages from Off-World, a spin-off project in VR, is developed — led by Sofy with her students at The Institute for Future Technologies at Pôle Léonard de Vinci, Paris.
March 2026 / Playtest 4
Bombay Beach Biennale. FM transmission and receiver tested in an outdoor landscape for the first time.
// Project Overview

Cosmic rays activate stories
about humanity's near-far future

At the center is Liz. She is 126 years old and has chosen the date of her death. Before she goes, she uploads her memories to an archive. Her voice threads through the installation, reflecting on a century-plus of living: the First Pandemic and Fire-Flood Years, the Second Pandemic, the great dispersal — civilization-scale events that reshaped the world she knew. The other voices belong to people in that same near-far future, speaking casually and intimately about small moments of life: a doctor, two centenarians, a young woman, an old man.

What they left in the archive is what you receive as you tune in on the walk. These are the Messages from Space.

// Team