The Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) reopened on Feb. 15 with a new exhibit titled Drift: Art and Dark Matter that connects physics, astronomy and art.
The exhibit was made possible by a partnership between the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute at Queen’s University and SNOLAB, which is an underground research facility in Sudbury, Ont. that specializes in neutrino physics and dark matter research.
This exhibit brought together four international artists that specialize in different mediums, such as sculpture, textile and video, to showcase their work in university art galleries across Canada. Starting at Queen’s, the exhibit travelled to UBC in September 2021, is now being featured at Carleton and will make its way to the University of Toronto in May.
“[Agnes Etherington Art Centre] has a history with the McDonald Research Institute going all the way back to 15 years ago when my predecessor worked on a project revolving around neutrino physics,” Kerr said.
Kerr said the main intention of the exhibit was to foster communication between scientists and artists.
“The institute approached us in a way that drew us into the subject of dark matter and the research they were doing alongside SNOLAB to use art to popularize the subject of dark matter,” he said.
Jol Thoms is one of the exhibit’s featured artists and based out of London, U.K. Thoms uses a variety of mediums to produce his art, from audio installations to sculptures to videos.
“I’ve been working with physics for a long time, specifically in neutrino physics which is closely related to dark matter and I’ve always been interested in going to SNOLAB,” Thoms said. “Being two kilometres [inside] the earth also sounded like a nice possibility.”
In addition to having his artwork featured at CUAG, Thoms also participated in a talk with assistant professor of experimental physics Simon Viel, to discuss his research with SNOLAB and how physics and art can intersect.
Thoms and Kerr both shared the sentiment that the art in the exhibit is not just about connecting science and art, but also about creating dialogue between scientists and artists.
“What we wanted to do was have the artists go directly to SNOLAB,” Kerr said. “[We wanted to have] the artists see firsthand the experiments taking place, as well as have art talks for the researchers to be introduced to the artists’ work.”
The project is a touring exhibit that will be presented at partner institutions to educate students and the public, and introduce them to ways physics can be incorporated into artistic mediums.
“At the end of the day, we’re an art gallery, not the science and tech museum,” Wright said. “So I don’t think one would go to learn the specifics of dark matter.”
For Wright, the most important aspect of this exhibit is showcasing the work of the artists.
“What we’re showing is professional [artists] making art about something that is intangible and undetectable,” she said. “I think that is something artists do all the time when they try to represent a theme through their artwork like emotions and life experiences.”
Drift: Art and Dark Matter will be at Carleton from Feb. 15 until April 3. Admission to the gallery is free and booking can be done online through Eventbrite.
Featured image by Rachel Topham via Jol Thoms.
