Practice-based Artistic Research

Encounters with the Cosmos

Artist Statement: 

Encounters with the Cosmos is a practice-based artistic research project investigating interconnectedness and entanglement, asking whether making with *Elemental Materials (gold, copper, aluminium, carbon) can help us feel, not just know, that we are materially connected to the wider living world. Through the work, I am combining aspects of Astrophysics, Geometry, Natural History, Philosophy, and Cosmology. I draw on Karen Barad’s concept of entanglement, Donna Haraway’s thinking on kinship and Maria Puig de la Bellacasa’s work on care, alongside Timothy Morton’s idea of an ecological “mesh”. A guided visualisation accompanies the work, inviting viewers to imagine their place within deep time and the ecosystems around them. My aim is modest: that a sense of interconnectedness might make peace and ecological care feel closer to home.

* Elemental art materials is a term I coined during my MA research to denote art materials (carbon, gold, copper, clay, and others) that contain elements from the Periodic Table that were formed through astrophysical processes such as stellar nucleosynthesis and supernova events. In essence, those atoms that were forged in the hearts of dying stars. Gold and copper, for instance, are produced by the r-process in supernovae and expelled into the universe as stardust, later drawn by gravitational forces into planets, moons and stars, as discussed by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (Morgan, 2022). These elements are found throughout the universe; in nebulae, planets and moons; and on Earth, proliferate in the crust, the oceans, the atmosphere, and every living body: even human blood carries tiny traces of gold. Elemental materials therefore serve as a physical, not metaphorical, manifestation of the deep interconnectedness of every atom across the universe. They anchor metaphysical and astrophysical concepts such as Deep Space, Deep Time, and spacetime with our shared primordial origins. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “we are not figuratively, but literally stardust” (Morgan, 2022).

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Have an Encounter with the Cosmos:

This video serves as an immersive visualisation experience, offering the audience an encounter with the cosmos. By experiencing this journey, audiences will be better equipped to access and understand the underlying concepts of my practice-based artistic research and artwork.

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CLICK HERE for a list of references used during my MA Degree.