My artwork (Looking Beyond) should be looked at as a source of inspiration. Black Holes are scary, the very fact that we do not know what happens inside the singularity ( or even if they can act as wormholes) is extremely unsettling. But this doesn't stop scientists from trying to look beyond and try everything they can to learn and understand more about them. This is exactly the kind of motivation that we need. No matter how dark or unknown our near future might look like, we must push through and keep moving forward.
At the beginning of the project, I wanted to capture the feeling of isolation and loneliness that everyone in lockdown and quarantine is experiencing around the world.
So I looked into NASA's official pages looking for any updates or news on what their approach has been on the COVID -19 pandemic. Most of the news reports covered stories of how astronauts go through similar feelings and how they tackle similar scenarios.
So the first idea that popped into my mind is that of an astronaut stranded in space or on the moon alone. After I completed this work, I wasn't fully satisfied . The image provoked a feeling of desperation. I wanted to create something that seemed more hopeful.
So I went back and started looking through the NASA archives and came across a couple of stories and papers on black holes, this caught my attention.
Initially, I tried studying the black hole image that was taken in 2019. After I tried to recreate the blackhole picture as a painting I then proceeded to try and depict the Hawking radiation. Looking Beyond has to be seen as a bright beacon of hope.
I believe that the idea of Black holes might almost seem desolate due to its unknown nature however this doesn't stop human endeavors to learn more and go beyond our capabilities. to get the first image of the black hole, scientists needed a satellite the size of the earth itself to collect the data. But they came together from around the world against all odds and worked together piecing together an image.
The image of a black hole has two feelings to it, one of complete desolation and one of hope, which is why I have chosen to try and depict this in my work (Looking Beyond).
Black Hole Has Major Flare. (2020). Retrieved 31 May 2020, from https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4753
Black Hole or Newborn Stars? SOFIA Finds Galactic Puzzle. (2020). Retrieved 31 May 2020, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/black-hole-or-newborn-stars-sofia-finds-galactic-puzzle
Spitzer Telescope Reveals the Precise Timing of a Black Hole Dance. (2020). Retrieved 31 May 2020, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/spitzer-telescope-reveals-the-precise-timing-of-a-black-hole-dance
Stars Are Being Born in the Depths of a Black Hole. (2020). Retrieved 31 May 2020, from https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/stars-are-being-born-in-the-depths-of-a-black-hole
What Are Black Holes?. (2020). Retrieved 31 May 2020, from https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/starsgalaxies/black_hole_description.html
Why Clouds Form Near Black Holes. (2020). Retrieved 31 May 2020, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/why-clouds-form-near-black-holes