The Disappearing Dark
Katherine Yaksich
The Disappearing Dark is a project about our loss of the night sky. It is about the artificial world taking over the natural world. It is about restoring a loss of wonder and curiosity. When I began studying light pollution, I became fascinated by the broad effects it has on our world, ranging from breast cancer in women to bird migration. What we lose as a society when the dark disappears, like the ability to see the stars or even talk about them, is irretrievable. The intention of this project is to factually convey information about light pollution, while creating a poetic experience that captures the beauty of the night sky. The project tackles these ideas in three parts: a publication detailing the myriad facets of light pollution, a pop-up installation that can be installed anywhere that has a projector, and a website, making the project more broadly accessible and participatory. The publication is printed on newsprint, allowing for distribution to a large number of people. Additionally, both the publication and installation video are available as downloads from the website, acting as an ‘instructable’ for users to create their own ‘Disappearing Dark’ installation. I hope that through engagement with The Disappearing Dark project, people from all walks of life will become more aware of the consequences and impact of artificial light pollution and feel inspired to start a dialogue about how to save the dark.