2050 | Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium

In March 2014, La bande à Paul was awarded the turnkey mandate to produce the temporary exhibition 2050 – From Dream and Reality at the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. The institution wished to create an exhibition to promote its 2050 time capsule project and present the 25 texts that won the 2014 edition of the Quebec Ministry of Education’s French-language competition. 

Our concept was inspired by the plaques attached to Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1’s Golden Record. Like bottles thrown into the sea, these objects carry a message to those that might find them in the distant future; what a great approach to create a link to the notion of a time capsule! And so, the project’s scenography and graphic design were based on the plaques’ graphical elements.

To signal the existence of the time capsule, hidden in the Dow Planetarium’s former Zeiss projector, a gleaming and engraved polished brass medallion was created. Placed on the capsule’s sealing cap, it draws the eye and intrigues visitors. Two of the best texts were inscribed on diagrammatic ribbons emerging from desks boasting the exhibition’s colours and filled up the exhibition space.