Nanna Debois Buhl, The Planets, 2016, powder coated steel, PS 163, Queens

The art installation “The Planets” takes its outset in the Solar system, a source of wonder for both children and adults. It combines a scientific model and an imaginative textual element related to learning and memorization. The work is placed in the lobby of PS163Q.

The installation consists of a model of the Solar System (the 8 planets and the Sun) and a collection of phrases – planetary mnemonics – mounted on the walls surrounding the model. A planetary mnemonic is a phrase used to remember the order of the planets in the Solar System: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The mnemonics were written by students at PS163Q. A scientific model is thus used as a structural device around which the student’s texts evolve, expressing their imaginative universes.