The invention of the telescope in the early 17th century radically transformed humanity’s image of itself, its own place in the cosmos. From Galileo to us, optical telescopes consist of two lenses. If one would attempt a simple definition of a telescope, it could be said that it is a device that dramatically extends the reach of the eye. The sophisticated astronomy practiced in the Andes had a different approach, ‘water mirrors’ allowed these ancient scientists to study the stars by looking downwards to their reflection.

These many river samples, taken along the way, were then poured inside customized slides. Consequently, they have been sealed, preserving each of them as living ecosystems.
This rare viewpoint enables us to see the river in a new way, not as images representing it, but rather by showing us the river itself from within, as a body containing endless worlds.

Being the case that the center of the Milky Way can be better observed from the Southern Hemisphere, indigenous peoples of the Andes invented a notion of constellations that is not made by drawing imaginary lines between shinning stars, theirs rather are formed by the interstellar dust floating in the center of our galaxy, which casts shadow forms.