We look to the stars not to escape from the world but to understand our position within it. From contemplating the sun, moon, and stars, humanity has derived its diverse origin stories, cosmologies, belief systems, concepts of death, and social hierarchies. The cosmos defines us just as we define the cosmos.

Published to complement the 14th Shanghai Biennale, entitled Cosmos Cinema and curated by Anton Vidokle, this illustrated catalogue extends the exhibition’s proposal that the methodologies of filmmaking might offer one way of representing and reimagining our entanglement in time and space. The book presents the work of artists from the early twentieth century to the present alongside a series of specially commissioned essays on subjects ranging from the history of Shanghai cinema to the possibility of communicating with nonhuman intelligence. These artworks and texts encourage readers to reflect on their place within the systems that shape every aspect of our lived experience.