Pragya Bhargava
Dark Matter: Latency, Materiality and Distortions

Darkness is revealed by the light that surrounds it.

This research is a cosmic allegory that leaps from observational and scientific realism to speculative artistic inquiry while being tethered to both. It is an experimental and conjectural topology of the unknown, uncharted and largely unexplored— the latent web of dark matter in the universe. It is a work of science fiction.

The research forefronts the latency of dark matter by elaborating on the missing mass of the Virial Theorem and the distortions due to gravitational lensing as existing methods of investigation. The gap in these approaches is identified as the lack of comprehensive, material understanding of dark matter. All three characteristics—latency, materiality and distortions— have inherent parallels in painting. The tacit knowledge of making, the role of materials and the distortions of form can, not only embody the intricacies and latency of dark matter but also contribute to them.

Therefore, a composite painting-led methodology is proposed in this research to shape the ambiguous critical context and explore a range of interpretive possibilities. The paintings and writing together present a constellation of latent cosmic connections investigating the unseen and elusive web of dark matter in the universe.