Investigating Entanglement and Interconnectedness, and thinking about the idea that we are all made from stardust, it was an obvious conclusion for me to come to the Periodic Table for scientific proof of our interconnectedness. It is not enough to say ‘we are all made from the same stuff’ – I wanted to know exactly which stuff in order to communicate this in my art practice.
I was unable to find one Periodic Table that would illustrate my line of enquiry, and so I created one for myself in my sketchbook:
The colour coding and icons give me an immediate dashboard view of the Periodic Table of Elements, showing how each of them were ‘made’ i.e. some come as a direct result of Big Bang Fusion, whereas others come as a result of Exploding White Dwarf Stars.
I am in progress of researching another set of icons that will also show which of these elements are found in Mammals (including but not limited to humans), Water, Earth (soil and rocks), Plants and the Atmosphere, and lastly, which elements are found in my oil paints.
I’d then like to find a way to overlay all of this information so that I can find a group of common elements, that were all born in a star, that are found across mammals, water, plants, earth, the atmosphere and my art materials paints, and then to experiment with creating artworks out of these. I am battling to find a collective term for these materials.
I am thinking about how best to depict this for myself in my sketchbook – possibly something as utilitarian as another table.
I am considering also looking at interconnectedness via DNA comparisons of organic matter (mammals, insects, plants, etc.).
Debbie New 