Cosmic Erotism

A decisive event is the arrival of man on the Moon. That produces a phenomenon which, in my opinion, has not been sufficiently appreciated: the psychic or spiritual center shifts from within man on Earth to outer space. The ego no longer has a limit—that of this planet—and instead transfers itself and sees itself from space. ¹

For Birri, the Moon landing was a cosmic rupture—just as May 1968 marked a political and cultural break, though one still confined to Earth. This event redefined humanity’s place in the universe and, in Birri’s work, it opened the door to a new symbolic language in which sexuality, myth and technology converge. In this group of works, recurring images of phalluses often appear linked to space exploration—floating in the cosmos, paraded like idols by anthropomorphic figures or embedded within celestial landscapes.

These representations also bring up many recurrent topics in his paintings: space exploration as a metaphor for inner discovery; Birri’s engagement with creation myths, such as the Cosmic Egg (explicitly referenced in several paintings); and the relationship between orgasm and the creation of the universe as suggested in Six Studies for the Milky Way. Birri constructs a layered temporality—where ancient mythologies coexist with modern scientific achievements—and a spatial duality that merges the vastness of the cosmos with the intimacy of sex.