Artists Statement

Messages from the Horizon is an artwork inspired by the elusive nature of black holes and their study. Three semi-transparent displays represent black holes using an effect called persistence of vision. An array of monitors collects and assembles messages from the simulated black holes. Each monitor offers a different perspective of otherwise unknowable information from the simulated black hole messages through visualizations and sonifications in real-time. The result is an expression of the process of astronomical observation, knowledge acquisition and the human condition that simultaneously celebrates human achievement and the existential limitations of our being.

• Mark-David Hosale is an Associate Professor and Chair of Computational Arts at York University. Jim Madsen is Executive Director at Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center. Hosale and Madsen have been collaborating for about eight years on a variety of different art- science projects. Hosale and Madsen have developed several projects working with IceCube research to create sonifications of IceCube data, large scale volumetric displays, and game interfaces that explore astrophysical concepts. Their work ranges from concrete representation to conceptual, while providing a view of the process of scientific data acquisition and how it shapes the way we see the Universe.