In 2011, I spoke to Axel Straschnoy about the possibility of publishing a first volume of criticism about his work. For several reasons, we agreed that this was the right time to start work on a book; in my case the decision wasn't driven by an arbitrary urge to document every step the artist has taken, but by the conviction that his work had reached a stage when it could now be studied in depth and that Planetarium Film - his latest project and the focus of this publication - marked a watershed in his practice, when certain preoccupations with which he had been working were falling away, while others remained and new ones were emerging. Although this is true of every project Straschnoy embarks upon, there are certain departures that stand out from the overall narrative of his career.