AETHER
20 February - 2 April 2016

Opening
Saturday 20 February 2016 from 19:00 Uhr

Jarvis Dooney in collaboration with super/collider, is pleased to present AETHER from the 20th of February until the 2nd of April 2016.

In medieval science, AETHER was the name of the classical element thought to fill the void outside the Earth’s atmosphere and extending into the universe. In this group exhibition AETHER brings together a group of international artists which share a fascination with astronomy, light, matter, time and space.

Utilising photography as a record keeping medium, together with the scientific method of exploration and enquiry, each artist documents their own curiosity with the cosmos and its relationship to Earth. Various photographic techniques have been employed by each of the artists including daguerreotypes, darkroom experiments, traditional c-types prints and contemporary mixed media to express these concepts.

Two parallel themes running through the exhibition are the scientific exploration of space, light and time, and the abstract representation of philosophical and theoretical aspects of astronomy.

From Jane Grisewood’s Black Light documenting of the annual solar eclipse on 20 May 2012, to Michaela French’s Museum of Light catalogue of daylight observations, to Claire Kroužecký’s Spökenkieker (8 Apparitions) - each artist has methodologically recorded the relationship between light and time, whether a specific moment or extended duration. Sophy Rickett and Melanie King each share a nostalgia for the early days of astronomy, working with archival negatives of the solar system and experimenting with classical methods of recording light from the planets. Casey Moore uses large format photography to record details of meteorites and we introduce our first video work at the gallery with Katie Goodwin’s 16mm film Lightness, which explores the wonders of night sky.

The word AETHER also has roots in ancient mythology and early civilisations where the first questions about the cosmos and our place in the universe were theorised. Maija Tammi’s Milky Way is inspired by panspermia and the ‘Seeds of Life’ which may have been responsible for the beginning of life on Earth. From the point of creation to organised communities, Kate Robertson attempts to document social interaction and ephemeral experience through alternative photographic methods. Similarly Osheen Harruthoonyan returns to the aether through darkroom alchemy creating alien worlds with his experimental photographic techniques.

Barry W. Hughes’ childhood interest in science fiction led to a lifelong fascination with space and how it remains one of the last true romantic obsessions for humanity. Based on the NASA Near Earth Object Program, his ongoing series NEOP interprets images from the satellite recordings with objects in Hughes’ line of sight; presenting each in a neutral context, without knowledge of their origin or meaning. Contemporary theoretical physics has also provided much inspiration for science fiction writers. Jaden Hastings x0 Planet is a holographic projection of imagined worlds, a speculative, parallel exploration of the Universe for the existence of other worlds beyond our solar system. As a representation of what might exist outside our understanding, Louise Beer constructs dark space installations of light objects which are independent of a fixed reference to time and space. In a similar vein, Lauren Franklin’s Primordial, the second video included in this group exhibition, attempts to simulate our primitive experience of the unfamiliar. Distorting what we may or may not know about the universe, constantly providing humankind with a source of wonder and fascination.