By accelerating subatomic particles to near the speed of light and smashing them together in controlled environments, particle accelerators allow us to further investigate how certain elements were formed, as well as how the universe came into existence and why. Along with the very real risk of creating earth-gobbling black holes in collisions gone awry, the opportunity to discover answers to some of human-kinds most important and sought after questions is simply too attractive to ignore.
Viewers are not expected to understand that these oil paintings are derived from photographs of 70-foot tall particle accelerators. In fact, they have been broken down and abstracted so much that even individual components are unidentifiable. This is intended to simulate the overwhelming feeling of being lost and entirely miniscule in comparison to how grand of a presence they carry. I visually break down the machines into major shapes and colors to understand them as small groups of a whole, much like the machines themselves must break down elements to their most bare components to understand the universe and beyond as the sum of many other smaller parts.
