Even after 80 years since the space race began, the extraterrestrial universe is still a

mystery for human beings. However, like in all their pilgrimages across

continents and seas, other members of the animal kingdom have followed their path and, at times,

led their advances. In ancient times, birds guided great civilizations on their journeys through

broad and uncharted seas. In the modern era, Laika, Ham, and Félicette were some of the

animals that propelled discoveries in breaking through the last barrier for the

expansion of humanity: the atmosphere.

The competition between the Soviet Union and the United States resulted in imaginative stories and

fantasies about the reach these expeditions would have. Posters, comics, television series, and

action figures continue to awaken the dreams and imagination of millions around the world,

who wonder if future generations will call some unknown planet

“home.”

I need space appears in the dreamlike tales of Ariosto Rivera as a tribute to the silent heroes

who pushed the boundary of space and shattered the anthropocentric conception

of the universe. Dogs, monkeys, cats, rabbits, and rats revealed to humans that the

cosmos is vast and inexhaustible. We are not alone, neither here, nor “out there.”

From the perspective of artists, animals are represented as great masters of

empathy and survival. As natural and adaptable explorers even in the most

adverse circumstances. Here, neither humans nor stellar scenarios take center stage. Like in children’s

fables, the viewer must imagine supernovae, galaxies, black holes, and planets based on the

representations of these creatures. In these new tales, their eyes and the color reflections on their

faces tell the fantastic odysseys of those who, on Earth, were pioneers in

intergalactic navigation.

Ariosto Rivera shares their vision of space as a utopia, in the sense of a

reconsideration of our nature and behavior. In science fiction narratives, the

new planets and forms of life push characters to renew themselves as a species, but also

incite the viewer to ask what they would do differently if they could start from scratch. Perhaps these

heroes will make us reflect on the historical relevance of our animal companions and the

relationship we have with them in this common “cradle.”