On the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing Aperture Honors The Apollo Prophecies, Photographs and text by Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick.
On July 20, 1969, a defining moment in history took place when Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and spoke the immortal words, “One small step for man—one giant leap for mankind.” On that memorable day, the world was led to believe that the Americans had won the race to the moon; that night, every child dreamed of growing up to be an astronaut. But with the publication of The Apollo Prophecies, by Aperture in November 2006
this historic “truth” faces a grave challenge.
In one extravagantly long photographic panorama, The Apollo Prophecies brilliantly documents a 1960s lunar mission that has an outcome very different from the one recorded in contemporary “histories.” As the story unfolds, we see that an expedition of 1960s American astronauts did indeed land on the moon, only to discover that a lost mission of Edwardian astronauts had gotten there first. These Edwardians greeted the Americans as long-awaited gods—the fulfillment of prophecies revealed to them many years before. Indeed, their prophecies mention the very names “Armstrong” and “Aldrin.” A friendly exchange ensued between the Edwardians and their “deities,” but when the Americans returned to Earth, the most remarkable of their lunar discoveries was kept under lock and key. Until now.
The Apollo Prophecies includes a booklet featuring the prophetic texts of the Edwardian astronauts, illustrated with intriguing schematics of Edwardian space gadgetry and photographs of the astronauts themselves. The tritone panorama and booklet are packaged in a space age die-cut slipcase. A limited-edition book is also available which is slipcased in a clamshell box. Also included is a DVD expanding on the trip, and a lenticular image, signed and numbered by the artists.
To view and buy the book, click here.
To view and buy the limited edition click here.
An exhibition of their work opens tomorrow, Saturday July 18th at Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles.
Lake of Dreams, 2003. © Kahn & Selesnick
