Ultra Deep, 2024

The centrepiece of the exhibition Ultra Deep is the work Orbits. It was first presented in a condensed form in Knie’s 2021 solo exhibition Matter–Antimatter in Spain. Now, it is shown at Studioblau  in the Saarländisches Künstlerhaus in Saarbrücken (Germany) in an expanded, spatially immersive version.

The work was developed over an extended period between 2019 and 2021, drawing an analogy to the creation of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), one of the deepest images of the universe ever captured in the visible light spectrum. Due to the flood disaster on 29 October 2024 in Valencia (Spain), which also affected Alexandra Knie’s studio, the series was recreated in 2024 for her solo exhibition Ultra Deep, presented in Saarbrücken. Most of the original works were lost in the flood.

In her artistic research, Knie explores scientific illustrations, concepts, and methods from (micro)biology, astronomy, and astrobiology—materialising their intersections in both analogue and digital spaces. The resulting models possess tactile and sensory qualities, providing access to scientific content or transforming it into speculative, hypothetical forms.

As a counterpoint to Orbits, Knie’s new work shifts the focus towards the depths of (unknown) microscopic matter. Through her primary artistic medium—machine embroidery—she brings the distant and the unimaginable, the invisible and the unknown, into a familiar, domestic context.

Detail Connectors, 2024 | Exhibition view Ultra Deep, Saarländisches Künstlerhaus Saarbrücken, Germany

Element from Orbits, 2024 | machine embroidery on cotton fabric | 40 x 30 cm

Element from Unknown matter, 2024 | machine embroidery on synthetic fabric, ∅ 11 cm