The Pillars of Creation (M16 Eagle Nebula)  Mirror, aluminium, physically manipulated prints, H1.2m x 2m x 2m

Installation view: La fine delle Universe, The Crypt Gallery, London. Curated by Lumen Studio.

As distant light reached its immaculate surface, towering clouds were reflected, like stalagmites from a cavern’s floor. Pillars of ultraviolet light from hot massive newborn stars illuminated the violent and hostile atmosphere that prevailed here. Attempts were made at understanding this crumpled and multi-dimensional time-history but their vision was limited by the maximum diameter of the monolithic and deployable segments that could be launched.’
–Extract from accompanying narrative


The Pillars of Creation is formed from the renowned image of the M16 Eagle Nebula – made with data captured by the Hubble space telescope – which has been reformed into a sculptural installation with monolith-like mirrors. Mirrors are the primary light-gathering component in many telesopes yet also objects of illusion and paradox encountered in much folklore and fiction. Taking this dual nature along with the known artifice and heavily constructed nature of astronomical imagery, the resulting sculptural configuration provides an imaginative experience of cosmic encounter, that alludes to the fallacies built into perception and the construction of knowledge.