David J Greeves
MA Fine Art
It seems so simple – shine a coherent beam of light through a fine double slit and one would expect to see two dots of light received on a vertical plane the other side. But no, instead one sees multiple dots diminishing away, either side from the centre, in a line: an interference pattern, much like that created by two circular ripples of water intersecting, observed in cross-section, one’s sight along the horizontal film of water. A simple experiment, but one that has had deep ramifications for the scientific understanding of matter when taken further.
Matter is both particle and wave, discreet quanta, and wave of probability.
The role of the “observer” in physics has become the cause of some debate with links to questions around the nature of consciousness. Naturally, the role of the observer is central to art. How immediate is cognition of a form as signifier? Does there remain a state of uncertainty, incomprehension, or possibility, where our minds dwell, or instead do we instinctively conjure up helpful memories, providing a schema of orientation?
During the MA I have taken simple elements: light, form, and sound in the mediums of photographic emulsion, digital animation, paint, print, and audio recordings to see if there can be an interplay or counterpoint of languages that create a certain kind of space. They feel very much like tentative studies for future work, where I would like to build links with the wider science community and other artists working in related ways.
