Is time an illusion?
At the dawn of the 21st century we are entering a new era in cosmology. We have set our sights on the dark cosmos. For centuries astronomers have probed the Universe using light – waves of electromagnetism that humans can see. Recently, a very different window on the Universe has opened up: gravitational waves. Unlike electromagnetic waves, gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime that unlock regions of the Universe that are dark, or where light cannot penetrate. Most leading theoretical physicists now believe that it is inevitable that Einstein’s ideas about spacetime will be replaced by a quantum hypothesis, perhaps a quantum hologram. If correct, this will require us to revise our image of spacetime, and even accept that most of it is an illusion.
The freedom to explore is as central to contemporary cosmology as it is to contemporary art. Both artworks and cosmological theories in this room move about in the vast open space between abstract thought, data, bits and bytes and radical imagination. Listen in on a conversation between Stephen Hawking and Thomas Hertog about their holographic theory, while a history of artworks flashes before your eyes.
Review an account of innovation that cautions us not to let our dystopian tendencies disrupt our utopian ideals and lose yourself in an immersive room of moving shadows.
While science and art each operate in their own spheres, and may serve different goals, they interconnect at an intuitive level. Both are nurtured by wonder, and a craving for an understanding of the cosmos and of what it means to be human.