Mackenzie Calle

In the vast space exploration process, a work with its unique perspective has triggered people's deep reflection on space history and gender equality. This work is Mackenzie Calle's (@mackenzie.calle) The Gay Space Agency. It not only reveals the history of the U.S. space program's exclusion of openly gay astronauts but also shows a beautiful vision of diversity and inclusion in the future space field through the fictional agency.

This work is based on a deep dive into the history of the American space program. After reviewing NASA and the National Archives, Mackenzie found no documents about the LGBTQI+ community's contributions to the space program. This apparent absence inspired her to create The Gay Space Agency. From NASA's earliest days, sexual orientation bias has been implicit in its astronaut selection criteria. From Mercury to Gemini to Apollo, astronaut candidates were required to undergo tests for heterosexuality, while homosexuality was seen as a mentally ineligible condition. This unjust policy has marginalized and forgotten the LGBTQI+ community in the long history of space exploration. It is only in recent years that the issue has come to the fore with the increasing recognition and inclusion of multiculturalism in society.

With a rich visual language, Mackenzie constructs a space that is both real and surreal. By manipulating images and collages, she interweaves past and future, reality and fiction, forming a unique visual narrative. The first part of The Gay Space Agency, using manipulated archival NASA images, reveals the barriers that prevent the LGBTQI+ community from entering space, recreates the history of the marginalization of gay people in space, and gives viewers a glimpse into those forgotten corners. The second part, through original photography, celebrates and imagines an imaginative and inclusive future space world where gay astronauts wear space suits and travel among the stars. This contrasting narrative allows the audience to feel the injustice of history deeply and also inspires them to hope for the infinite possibilities of future space exploration.

Through this work, Mackenzie challenges prejudice and discrimination in traditional space exploration narratives and provides a powerful voice for the historic place of the LGBTQI+ community in space exploration. She cleverly uses sci-fi elements to satirize the social issue of homophobia in the context of space exploration, thereby provoking the audience to ponder the urgent need for greater representation and inclusion. Through the layering of images and visual language, she enables the audience to rethink the past and imagine the future while enjoying the works.