The Wall: The Captives of the Cosmic Web
The north wall of St Johns Hall Gallery is home to a large painting measuring 28′ wide by 20′ high, constructed from 24 panels. This piece is called ‘The Captives of the Cosmic Web‘.
Each of the panels is a meditation on various aspects of the formation of our universe inspired by the latest discoveries made by astronomers and physicists. The picture also includes a narrative commenting on the emergence of this understanding as a result of the European enlightenment.
A fully illustrated book about the painting is available from Amazon and from the gallery. Some of the thoughts that led to this painting are outlined in the book.
I was being informed, throughout the time the painting was being worked on (about 4 years from 2010 until the end of 2014) by my reading, research online and numerous informative programmes on the radio and TV. Throughout this time, I was also meeting many diverse people, coming in and out of the studio (now gallery) where I worked, who liked to share their views and experiences along the same lines as the painting. Numerous friends have also contributed their thoughts that have influenced this work.
Images of each of the panels are in the slide show box below. There are also three photographs from an Opening Event from an exhibition in 2019, that give a sense of the scale of the work. If you tap on any image, it should open a lightbox that will allow you to flick between the images using the arrows to the left and right, and to zoom in to see more closely.