LIGHT IN THE DARK
Solo Exhibition
In the frame of the XXI FESTIVAL DELLA SCIENZA
University Library of Genoa
via Balbi 40, 16126 Genoa
October 26th - November 5th, 2023
An exhibition project to develop and promote collaboration
interdisciplinary between the world of art and the world of science for a
new vision and understanding of reality.
Works, installations and video projections by Enrico Magnani
Curated by Marilena Streit-Bianchi and Kerstin Petrick
LIGHT IN THE DARK is an exhibition project aimed at developing and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration between the worlds of art and science, having as its purpose: to offer a conscious vision related to new scientific discoveries of the Universe in which we live. This vision opens the door to deeper reflections on the complex dynamics of human beings, their origin and the relationship we have with nature. Reminding us that everything is in everything, "Light in the dark" connects the macrocosm to the microcosm, the universe to man; it is a hymn to life, its complexity and its magic.
SUPERNOVA
Symbol of cyclicity of the universe
The "Supernova" painting cycle (from 2017) aims to bring attention to the phenomenon and consequences of the huge explosion that characterizes the end of a star's life: the supernova. All the material released by the explosion is the origin of the formation of new stars. The supernova is a symbol of death and rebirth and of the cyclical nature of the universe. In these spectacular cosmic events, elements heavier than iron are formed, thanks to which life, as we know it, is possible. Remembering that everything is in everything, "Supernova" connects the macrocosm to the microcosm, the universe to man, science to transcendence. For the artist, it represents a hymn to life, its complexity and magic.
DARK MATTER
Change of Paradigm
The "Dark Matter" pictorial cycle is an evolution of the "Supernova" series. The subject of the series remains the huge stellar explosion, to which a “Dark Matter” is metaphorically added. The pictorial effects of phosphorescence, which are not visible in the presence of light, are revealed in the darkness, unexpectedly changing the aesthetics of the work, which appears with new colors and shapes - two artworks on a single support medium. Just as we are used to using light to see things, now, on the other hand, we have to remove light to see phosphorescence: sometimes a paradigm shift is necessary to be able to explain the mechanisms of creation. "Dark Matter" pictorial cycle highlights the need to use our imagination and every tool at our disposal to understand what is obscure to us. Dark matter, as it does not emit electromagnetic radiation, it is invisible to the technological means with which we explore subatomic physics or our Universe. In our reality we know that depending on the instrument of investigation we use - physical, rational or based on our perceptions - the information we receive changes, revealing to us a world far more complex and varied than we could have imagined. This also happens to those who look at the works in this series.
DARK ENERGY
Cosmic accelerator?
The "Dark Energy" series - a natural continuation of the “Dark Matter" series - in addition to phosphorescent pigments, incorporates fluorescent pigments in the works, which react to ultraviolet light that is commonly called "black light." The association between black light and dark energy, led to the creation of this series of artworks that shows a completely different aesthetic when the fluorescent pigment is illuminated by ultraviolet light as well as when the work is observed in total absence of light - three artworks on a single support medium. "Dark Energy" is predicted by some cosmological models to justify the existence of an anti-gravitational force that pervades the entire universe; it would be the cause of its accelerated expansion. Other cosmological models, however, do not require the presence of such energy.
QUANTUM MULTIVERSE
A layer cake of parallel universes
The idea that myriad of universes exist was proposed 1957 by Hugh Everett III in his doctoral dissertation entitled "The theory of the universal wave function" . To sweeten this concept, let us think of a parallel layer cake with a circular base. The cake represents the wave function of the generic state of "everything that exists“. Each layer of the cake corresponds to a superposition element of the wave function, which we can also call "world" or "universe." Each layer of the cake is different from the others and contains parallel universes. Building on this idea in the "Quantum Multiverse" works, the variegated circles, randomly arranged on a black background, represent some of the parallel universes in the cosmic void.
INFLATIONARY MULTIVERSE
Bubbles of cosmic foam
The series Inflationary Multiverse, born in late 2018, depicts the idea of the existence of a constellation of bubble universes that can have different physical constants in time and/or space. According to quantum mechanics, the structure of space at the particle scale can fluctuate randomly, giving it the appearance of chaotic soap foam. Quantum cosmology theorizes that about 10 to the -36 seconds after the Big Bang, the Universe went through an inflationary phase inflating in a fraction of a second by about 10 to the78. Some chaotic inflationary models predict the existence of a constellation of bubble universes subject to different physical laws. Furthermore, the moment of the formation of an inflationary bubble can be regarded as a new "Big Bang." This idea is the origin of this series of artworks, in which the colors and shapes of one universe - a metaphor for the different laws governing them - are mixed at the border with the colors and shapes of other universes. These artistic multiverses, with their soft and irregular shapes, take up the idea of the merging and separation of "cosmic foam bubbles“.
Con il supporto di Kangra
