T h e S k y F o r m e d M y P r a c t i c e
Pascale Bardos, Celestial Sphere No.03, digital image, dimensions variable
A memory that echoes through my existence is of a moment with my sister lying down in our backyard gazing up into the night’s sky. She was ten and I was five. She told me, “Did you know that stars are suns, and every single star you see has their own solar system.” This was the first time my perception reached beyond my own body, this moment ignited a spark of wonder and flamed a curiosity of existence with a desire to know more.
My practice explores the entanglements of the notions of expansion and retraction and navigates the synergies of union between these motions. I have come to contemplate the universe in the terms of expansion and the internal consciousness in terms of retraction. My research travels in both directions, entering wormholes that lead back to a perceptual awareness of the present while forming methods to comprehend existence.
Pondering that the opposite of the universe would be a point, locality or an intimacy, lead me to contemplate the universe in terms of expansion and the opposite to this being a retraction of internal consciousness. I came to query where the transitions of opposing motions intersect and combine. The contemplation was resolved when I peered into the horizon and viewed the sky meeting the sea. This union of space evoked a realisation that is the body that forms the horizon between these internal and external infinities.
My research explores external notions through the fields of astrophysics and cosmology. While an internal enquiry of the conscious mind is investigated through an exploration in the fields of evolutionary biology, neuroscience and phenomenology. My practice is formed through my theoretical and empirical research. With the reverberations of these explorations, I distill poignant moments that form my conceptual and material practice.