Abstract

QUANTUM QUESTIONS ExhibitionOne-person show, Dada Post, Berlin 2011 curated invitation by M Hager & H McCaleb. Quantum Questions is an installation, with sculptural and animated elements, exploring laypersons attempt to understand cosmological research and theoretical physics as a means of examining the politics of space. The work is part of a body of ongoing work derived from research involving a ‘show and ask’ methodology which I devised whilst working with astronomers from Armagh Observatory. (See Structures Invisible to the Naked Eye narrative)The work takes the form of a series of folded sculptural acoustic foam forms which reference how space might be bent and distorted. These are accompanied by animations dotted throughout the installation, which speculate about various actual and imagined structures and events in the universe.This work involves exploring contemporary physics’ endeavours to describe the fabric of space, exposing the tension between theoretical speculation and the rigorous business of observation and proof. As an artist I am interested in how scientific research can be likened to contemporary art practice in that it involves a degree of speculation as well as a process of testing trial and error. I also explore the pedagogical possibilities of this relationship by organising an annual trip and project centred around the trip for 1st yr Fine Art students.Other works under this umbrella include Dark Matter (Sept 2007 Third Space Gallery, Meditations Biennale, Germany and Poland) Sputnik (Nov 2008, Golden Thread, MMAC Holden Manchester) Structures Invisible to Naked Eye (2011, Belfast Exposed, Hybrid, Boulder Colorado & Tulca Galway), and Spike in the Data (2012, Solo show Third Space) All these works are concerned with the problems of representation and the area of slippage between an idea and its political context.This work is an extension of previous work and PhD research examining the politics of place.