An Early Universe
Photography Reece Straw
Alistair McClymont, An Early Universe, 2025
How do we relate to something as elusive as the origins of the Universe?
This experiment-artwork offers a glimpse into the first moments after the Big Bang. Sound from a speaker shakes a container of water, creating waves which reflect light and create patterns on a screen. These waves are comparable to the quantum oscillations created when the Universe was rapidly expanding.
Feel the vibrations: the sub-bass speaker in the corner emits sound waves of a frequency that can resonate within the body, offering an embodied experience of the forces that shaped the Universe.
A 3D scan of the water’s surface captures a fleeting moment of fluid motion, providing a tangible record of patterns too rapid to perceive.
This artwork uses low frequency sound which could have a physical impact on some visitors.
Underlying Alistair McClymont’s interdisciplinary creative practice is a deep concern for beauty and reason, explored through collaboration with scientists. Many of his art works take the form of direct demonstration or experimentation: by isolating phenomena, McClymont reimagines them, highlighting the balance between order and chaos, while questioning humanity's role in a science-defined era.
Created in collaboration with the University of Nottingham’s Gravity Laboratory, Assoc. Prof. Lina Jansson and ARTlab Nottingham, with contributions from UoN physicists and philosophers.