THE INTIMACY OF PHYSICS

This series of work began with a handful of texts and images from the history of science— Galileo's experiments in physics, Captain James Cook's observations of the Transit of Venus, and various documents from the U.S. Geological Survey. I have layered these stories with my own, re-presenting and even re-enacting them in order to understand them on a more personal and direct level. This work could be seen as a desperate attempt to find hope, not in the rational certainty of science, but in its intuitive and transformative capacities.

I begin with a simple shift in the language of science, to reveal it for what it truly is—- a poetry of intimacy, of falling bodies and celestial visions passing before the eyes of history.

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TRANSIT OF VENUS
Between you and me something becomes visible;
You are the backdrop that brings Venus into view.
(2008)
digital inkjet prints

The “Transit of Venus” refers to the path that the planet Venus makes across the face of the Sun. When this event was observed by scientists in 1761, it became one of the earliest examples of international collaboration in the field of science. My photographs re-enact this astronomical phenomenon, but as an intimate gesture between two human beings.

Measuring the Distance at Which We Can No Longer Hear Each Other
(2007)
digital inkjet prints

When Tony and I collaborated on this art piece back in 2007, we thought we were measuring the acoustics of the desert. I asked him to hold one end of a piece of twine, and then walk into the landscape until we could no longer hear each other. Today I realize there are many distances at which people can no longer hear each other. There are voluntary distances, theoretical distances... the distances of ignorance and forgetfulness. There are geo-political distances that separate families and loved ones on each side of national boundaries; and for Tony and I, there remains the unfathomable distance of death, at which we will no longer be able to hear each other.

Three Timepieces (Human, Animal, Geological)
(2008)
digital inkjet prints

From Lesheba, South Africa

Four Timepieces (Human, Animal, Geological, and Human Again)
(2008-2019)
digital inkjet prints

South Africa 2008, Alaska 2019

To Extinguish The Sun and Other Small Things:
Sun, Venus, and a New Moon; Conjunct at Zero Degrees Scorpio
(Partial Solar Eclipse, October 23, 2014; 2:30pm)
pinhole camera photograph, captured in a black box,
eight inches square

Galileo's Heartbeat
11" x 11"
2014
watercolor and olive oil on paper
eight inches square

In the absence of accurate clocks and
timekeeping devices,Galileo used his own heartbeat
to time his experiments.

Wires for Connection #1
(2005)
digital inkjet print

Wires for Connection #2
(2005)
digital inkjet print