SRG Bennett

microscopic macroscopic: in residence at cern (2016-17)

CERN particle physics laboratory is based on the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. The organisation is famous for discovering the Higgs Boson particle. It is hard to appreciate the scale involved in physics, from the infinitesimal quark to unfathomably big galaxies. No one can see particles colliding, and the physical geography of CERN is unusual but hardly awe-inspiring. 

Microscopic, Macroscopic (2016-17) aims to convey a sense of the research through intimate photos of the terrain and textures of CERN.

The project started as a series of photographs taken on night-time dérives of the CERN site. The photos are of ambiguous, confusing and scale-less phenomena. The subject matter could be a galaxy, a planet or a microscopic particle. In many cases it is the canteen window or a rusty bin.

The images are animated into a film, and then incorporated into kaleidoscopes. The kaleidoscopes provide an experience of peering through a tiny peephole to find an expanding universe of symmetrical, multiplying images. 

CERN provides an interesting avenue for investigating the use of science in public decision-making. Can such high profile and spectacular science, create the conditions for support for science across the socio-economic spectrum? And does its aesthetic matter?