The fact of the matter is black holes are terrifying. They’re a huge, ravenous phenomenon in space, and they don’t care what moves in their path. Not even light can escape a black hole. So it makes sense that they’re the stuff of nightmares. Combine that with another common nightmare theme, falling, and it seems like a perfect storm of terror. But actually, the visualized results turn out beautiful. Especially when set to epic music. Here’s a look at Jesse Woolston’s audio/visual art piece, which aims to capture his black hole dream in art.
We first saw this piece on Ars Technica, and we admit we’re entranced. The artist had this to say about his work, titled “The Dynamics of Flow:”
The Dynamics of Flow, observes the dynamics of natural phenomena across our universe and expresses a lifelong dream of confronting a black hole and falling in, articulating both a scientific and an emotional occurrence in an artistic way both visually and audibly. The work combines our universal laws of flow by connecting maelstroms, storms, and black holes together…The use of colour connects what we find on earth to our greater cosmos. By transforming between two different palettes, from plant to nebula gas, colour communicates in a subconscious, aesthetically orientated emotional way.
Interestingly, Woolston specifies that his dream of “falling inward” leaves him “waking up terrified.” But he never refers to the piece as portraying a nightmare, only a dream. Noting that his “emotion has been a reminder of nature’s terrifying awe and inspires the reasoning for my art to exist.” Indeed, there is something peaceful about his piece. It speaks of succumbing to a force that one cannot fight. It reminds us in a sense of this video of the sun’s surface, where devastating plasma that would incinerate us becomes an awe-inspiring spectacle.
Woolston has explored our turbulent yet magnificent nature before. His reimaginations of pieces by Van Gogh and Monet focus on the uncontrollable aspects of nature juxtaposed to the controllable nature of art.
#vangoghinspires @jessewoolston : 'Inspired by how Van Gogh understood & depicted turbulence in The Starry Night, the piece articulates what he imagined through a physics simulation. This exercise also re-defines how we experience this natural law of turbulent flow through art.' pic.twitter.com/LpcPmQixzz
— Van Gogh Museum (@vangoghmuseum) November 11, 2021
Color Theory continues with an observation of both idealized physics & Monet's impressionistic hand.
— Jesse Woolston (@jessewoolston) October 28, 2021
This artwork highlights the possibility in the domain of controllable physics and art. How we can one day understand nature and the terrifying awe of the forces around us? 🖤 pic.twitter.com/ovLCrRZkeW
We sure don’t ever want to fall into a black hole. But if we had to, we can only hope it looks like this piece of black hole art.