ISM
HD Animation
3’31’’
Sound by Dylan Hogan-Ross
Voice by Alana Bowden
Group Show:
Commissioned by Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest for Gravity and Wonder, AU
Big screen V, Focal Point Gallery, UK
Chiaroscuro , Coventry Cathedral UK. Curated by Martin Green
Channels INTERNATIONAL BIENNIAL OF VIDEO ART, AU
ISM is the result of a pairing with astronomer Graeme Wong over six weeks in the House of Wonder studios at Penrith Regional Gallery. Graeme’s area of focus is researching the molecular density of interstellar gas clouds and looking at initial conditions for star formation.
ISM pivots around visualizing what is optically invisible to humans; and the use of metaphor, language and linking. Metaphor used in science communication uses already acquired knowledge to position new information in our frame of reference. When talking about the unseen, the intangible, the invisible and unfathomable scale of the universe, when we use metaphor, human centered scale and the tangible to explain these ideas, does this tether and constrain our understanding? Do these objects become embedded in our comprehension of the universe?
Cross sections of scientist Graeme Wong’s desk were rendered in the same method he uses to look at sample areas of the gas clouds. The work paralells Graeme Wong’s methods of investigation, measurement and ultimately how we perceive and relate to the Universe.