Conrad Shawcross: Shadows of the Mechanism

Victoria Miro is delighted to present Shadows of the Mechanism, an exhibition by Conrad Shawcross comprising the debut of a significant new body of work, Time Pebble, and an immersive, multi-sensory installation of the artist’s acclaimed series, Slow Arc inside a Cube.

‘I have long been fascinated and beguiled by time, and am always excited by the way the relentless march of contemporary science is constantly constructing and eroding our realities. With this new series I have strived to find a way to geometrically envision notions of the very early universe’ – Conrad Shawcross

Inspired by maps and diagrams in cosmology and physics, the Time Pebble series explores the paradox of trying to conceive of the Universe from beyond itself. Developed over many years, the works featured in the exhibition are radiant forms that appear to emit and refract light from any viewpoint. The idea began with Shawcross’ artistic pilgrimage in 2005 to the Holmdel ‘Big Ear’ in New Jersey. This iconic radio telescope inadvertently detected cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) from the Big Bang, giving vital evidence to this theory by allowing for the production of ovoid maps of the residual heat left over from this event.

Taking these maps as his inspiration, Shawcross has attempted to represent the birth of the universe in sculptural form, each work perforated by a constellation of holes and formed of thousands of interlocking plates. His recent residency at the University of Nottingham, where he observed ground-breaking investigations into the early universe and black hole mergers, further informed the works’ form and rationale. They aim to evoke the intense, fleeting moment of this rapid expansion where, theoretically, the universe expanded from an infinitesimal singularity to incomprehensible vastness.

Speaking about these ideas, Shawcross says: ‘such little data exists from this pivotal moment in time that science and our imaginations are forced to dream together about how and why this growing singularity came into existence and became the generative point of the universe. It is thought that, within this initial expansion, almost all the galaxies and stars that exist today were born.’

Exploiting the intricacies of light, shadow and movement to investigate concepts within time, space and philosophy has been a long tradition within Shawcross’ practice. In his beguiling Slow Arc inside a Cube works, the first created in 2007, a small halogen light, mounted on the end of an articulated arm, travels diagonally from one corner of a mesh cube to its opposite side, drawing a near straight path with a parabolic speed. As it travels, the ever-changing shadow of the moving light within each cube falls on to the architecture of the surrounding space, plunging the stable surfaces of the room into apparent flux.

The impetus for the series stems from a quote by the British scientist Dorothy Hodgkin (1910–1994), a pioneer of crystal radiography who revolutionised structural biology, mapping complex atomic structures that enabled scientists to understand disease mechanics and design life-saving treatments. Hodgkin compared the process of extrapolating the dense protein cloud from chromatographic grids to attempting to deduce the structure of a tree purely by looking at its shadow. In turn, Shawcross saw a link to Plato’s allegory of the cave, which posits that our sensory perception of the world is not always its reality or truth. Addressing the disorienting relationship between the moving source of light, the cage, which is the only constant, and its changing shadow projected on to the surrounding space, Slow Arc inside a Cube is intended to defy stability and challenge preconceptions of completeness whilst also acknowledging our ability to infer things beyond our perception. As the artist has stated, ‘It’s trying to chisel away at our sense of human knowledge as complete; our perception is very far from that…’

Over the years, the complexity of the experiments within the Slow Arc series has increased considerably, from early works featuring a single bulb within a cage to multiple lights contained within nesting concentric cages with different layers and varying interference patterns. This installation, the very first time such a large display of these works has been shown, will create an entirely new immersive experience, with the gallery walls thrown into flux, contracting through light and shadow, giving the viewer the impression of a constantly shifting, mutable space. The installation will be further augmented by a specially commissioned soundscape by the experimental composer and pianist Edward Chilvers.

Image: Conrad Shawcross, detail of Time Pebble (E14SS6), 2026

© Conrad Shawcross

Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro