Helium Balloon Launch #5 — SSLLUT #1

Artist Run Scientific Enterprises (A.R.S.E.) invites you to the launch of the first prototype communication and exploration satellite device SSLLUT #1 — Smartphone Satellite Love Letter to the Universe Test #1.

SSLLUT #1 is part of the ongoing project Signalling the Stars, a dialogue between the artist and the universe. Across several helium balloon launches, A.R.S.E. has tested tools for transmitting love — including orgone energy coils, love letters and coded messages.

For SSLLUT #1, a live video call was placed to an Android device attached to 24 helium-filled balloons — a satellite-inspired FaceTime with the universe. The balloon was released from Contemporary Art Tasmania’s car park for a closing event, with the video call imagery live-streamed inside the gallery.

Image reference: Helium Balloon Launch #5 — Smartphone Satellite Love Letter to the Universe TEST #1 by Rahni Allan. Photo: Aaron Horsley. Also documented via SITUATE.

A cluster of yellow balloons floats high in a clear blue sky.

A cluster of yellow balloons floats in a blue sky above industrial buildings, with power lines and rooftops visible below.

A cluttered table with audio equipment, remote controls, a smartphone, a purse, papers, and two glasses of red wine.

A person in white clothing holds a bunch of yellow balloons while standing in a parking lot with several cars and a white building in the background.

A person in white clothes stands in a parking lot, reaching up toward a cluster of yellow balloons floating away above parked cars.

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