Mikko Rikala

The Overview Effect is a psychological experience reported by many astronauts after seeing Earth from space. It describes a sudden shift in perception. When astronauts observe the planet from orbit, or from the distance of the Moon, Earth appears small and self-contained within the vastness of space. From this perspective, the divisions that organize life on the ground disappear. National borders, political systems, and territorial conflicts are no longer visible. Instead, the planet is perceived as a single, interconnected whole.

While astronauts encounter this shift by looking down at Earth from space, similar reflections can also emerge from the opposite direction.

In his work, Mikko Rikala travels to different cities, sometimes on opposite sides of the globe, and photographs the sky above them. At first glance, these skies appear strikingly similar: clouds, light, atmosphere, and open space recurring across distant geographies. Yet each also contains subtle differences shaped by climate, season, pollution, time, and local conditions. The work moves between their shared similarities and differences. Rikala proposes the sky as both a shared space and a record of the place.