POLLI, Nicolas (Brusino Arsizio, 1989)Ferox. The Forgotten Archives. 1976-2010

"After discovering a group of meteorites in the Swiss Alps in the 1940s, scientists launched an advanced research project to determine the origins of the mysterious debris. After some preliminary experimentation, they revealed that the material traveled to Earth from Ferox, an undiscovered third moon of Mars. With funding from IEMS, scientists sent the first Rovers to Ferox, conducting experiments and collecting data on the meteorites' peculiarities. These studies went on for many years until research was halted due to severe budget cuts. While this funding freeze halted studies and research on Ferox, a massive collection of data, images and texts had meanwhile been meticulously archived. To spread awareness about Mars' third moon, artist Nicolas Polli created an open source website so that anyone can access the materials, which were recently published in an extensive research book. The Ferox story is incredibly compelling and important for space research, but there is just one catch: none of it is real.

With the help of writers and scientists, Polli has fabricated the entire Ferox archive in his studio, creating images that mimic the aesthetics of archival photographs, Ranger imaging, and laboratory documentation. Scientific discourse remains relatively inaccessible to the masses, and Polli believes that our acceptance of the information we receive, especially through images, needs to be challenged. His project "Ferox, the Forgotten Archives" encourages viewers to trust their criticality, rather than blindly accept the information that is provided. In an interview with LensCulture Polli talks about his interest in "fake news" and why this project is important in helping us develop a sense of dissent."

(from Cat Lachowskyj's interview with Nicolas Polli published in LensCulture).