Through the Looking Glass: Art + Science

Opening Night Reception: March 2nd, 2023 at 6:00pm. 

Through the Looking Glass: Art + Science explores the intersection of art and science as seen through the lens of microscopes and telescopes. Beyond the striking visual congruences, this juxtaposition of macroscopic and microscopic worlds unveils the patterns and similarities in the natural world that transcend scale. With artwork ranging from 3D printed sculptures of viruses to crocheted cells, bacteria grown on Petri dishes, images captured by the Hubble Telescope, and a larger than life “Teslascope” that purports to communicate with other planets, this exhibit will inevitably spark your curiosity and sense of wonder.

By revealing realms long invisible to the human eye, telescopes and microscopes have dramatically expanded the observable universe. Although seemingly worlds apart, the connection between the stars above us and the bacteria within our bodies is closer than one would think. In fact, the smallest living organisms – microbes – may be the key to understanding the very galaxy we inhabit. Although we can’t see this microscopic universe with the naked eye, or feel it on our skin, our bodies are inhabited by over 10,000 species of microbes. There are more bacteria in our bodies than there are stars in our entire galaxy. These microbes that we unconsciously carry have contributed to clarifying the origins of life on Earth, guided thinking about possible life on other planets, unlocked evolutionary mechanisms, and helped explain the functioning of complex ecosystems. As renowned astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson once proclaimed:

“We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically. The molecules that comprise our body are traceable to the crucibles of the centers of stars. These atoms and molecules are in us because, in fact, the universe is in us. And, we are not only figuratively, but literally, stardust. We do not simply live in this universe. The universe lives within us” 

This puts our identities as humans in perspective, not only as being part of the cosmos, but as complex organisms living symbiotically with a microscopic world of bacteria and other microbes.

In a visual journey from the smallest units of existence to the vastness of infinite space, viewers are encouraged to rethink the distance that separates us from one another and instead, focus on the connections between us that exist beyond our understanding.

Are you a teacher or a parent? Check out our gallery education guides for Elementary Students or Middle/Highschool Students.