The Silent Sky Project# is a worldwide art project. In this project Rob Sweere invites groups of people in many different countries around the world to look at the sky in silence. These people do this while lying on their back for thirty minutes. Each group of people has a natural connection to each other. They can be family, co-workers, living in the same neighbourhood, etc. The location where the action is happening also has a connection to this group of people. Rob Sweere started the project in 2004 and he has visited 13 countries up until now, including Australia, Brazil, England, India, South-Africa, Israel and Holland.
The Silent Sky Project# in Turkey is number 26. The group is connected to the Sinopale Biennal. They are curators, artists, volunteers for the organisation and friends of the biennial. The location is the Sinop Prison; a building where people have endured difficult times for a long while. The history of the location is still very tangible.
Early in the evening the group looked at the sky in silence for thirty minutes. It was truly silent and everybody was very focused. The sky was slowly turning dark.
After the action Rob Sweere has asked the participants for their experiences. One person saw fast moving stars in the sky and after a while she saw rainbow appearing in the sky. Another saw a ring of light in the sky and she felt herself in the center of it. One person slept during the action and felt great about it. A lady felt very heavy and melancholic, as the other felt happy and relaxed.
Two participants talked about how they could see the sea in the sky and how the sky has no limits, it is endless, and you can see the sea when looking up. They were also thinking about the poet Sabahattin Ali, who wrote this poem while being a prisoner in the Sinop Prison:
Even though you don’t see the sea
Turn your face up
The sky is like the sea
While walking around the different buildings in the prison, Rob Sweere thought about the same. So he decided to make the photo of the action so that the sea can be seen in the upper corner of the picture.
After Turkey Rob Sweere will visit more countries until he has invited groups of people all around the globe, which is like a big ball floating in space.