Laboratory of Dark Matters

“Everything that we can see, all the matter that we can detect in the entire universe is less than 5% of what we believe to be present” In May 2016, a group of nine artists visited Boulby Underground Laboratory on the North East coast of England hosted by Prof Sean Paling and guided by Dr Chamkaur Ghag and other scientists working on dark matter detection. The artists were transported to a hidden environment located in the UK’s deepest working mine beyond the reach of cosmic rays and background radiation. Gaining a glimpse into the dedicated world that the scientists inhabit in their quest to discover what the universe is made of they found there was common ground that the artists and scientists share as they seek to understand the mysteries of the universe and our role as individuals within it. Laboratory of Dark Matters will be in residence at Guest Projects, London in April 2017, where artists, adopting a laboratory ethos, will conduct their own research and create new work for an exhibition that will evolve during the residency. The public will be invited to witness the development of artworks, attend talks, screenings, performative lectures and participate in workshops exploring the science behind the research. There will be opportunities for discussion with the artists and the scientists through a programme of events, social media interaction and live video links to the UK’s deep underground science facility at Boulby Mine. The exhibition will then transfer to Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum in July 2017 for 6 weeks. Participating artists: Amy Gear, Daniel Clark, Elizabeth Murton, Kate Fahey, Luci Eldridge, Melanie King, Peter Glasgow, Sarah Gillett, Susan Eyre. For event information see www.laboratoryofdarkmatters.com Follow @darkmatterslab