Luci Eldridge

Laboratory of Dark Matters
Guest Projects, London
26-30 April 2017

In 2007, using data captured by the Hubble Space Telescope’s COSMOS survey, a group of NASA and ESA scientists led by Richard Massey constructed a three-dimensional map offering the first look at the web-like distribution of dark matter in the universe. Untitled (Dark Matter, Reconstructed) reassembles this data to present the invisible as a cluster of abstract forms. The intangible is objectified as a collection of shiny entities reminiscent of early sci-fi aesthetics. Instruments used in the detection of dark matter are varied; as an incredibly dense material, germanium is often used as one of the elements. Germanium Fragments I-VI depict tiny fragments of this lustrous grey metalloid, the surfaces reflecting the dazzling lights of the scanner bed on which they were imaged. Combined, the prints and 3D model play with limits of visibility, the boundaries between surface and depth and the loss of any kind of sense of scale.

The work was produced as part of a larger project and artist residency titled ‘Laboratory of Dark Matters’ at Guest Projects and the Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum.

Funded by Arts Council England.

More information on the project and related events can be found here: http://www.laboratoryofdarkmatters.com/

Photography by Sara Lynd.