Small Universes

“Understand that you are another world in miniature, and that within you are the Sun the Moon and also the Stars” This quote, by the 1st century theology scholar Origen, is the inspiration for an ongoing journey by Melbourne based photographer Brett Florence into the conceptual ‘miniature’ world. The Small Universes exhibition is a collection of ten images that explore the relationship between photo-fact and science-fiction. A blur between the monotony of daily life and an intra-stellar odyssey into Small Universes. Origen’s words two thousand years ago offer insight into a profound concept. Was this an early prediction of our atomic building blocks or an assertion of the uniqueness of individual spirituality? Perhaps both. No matter the intent, the statement offers a premise that we are in no way close to understanding the fabric of our being. This collection of work is inspired by the suggestion that science will one day explain the building blocks of our individual spirituality just as it has been able to explain our atomic building blocks. A discovery and exploration of our Small Universes. The ten images in the collection have been selected for their balance of urban landscape realism and dreamlike states; with the idea that if we ever could travel to our Small Universes it would be a sublime mix of what we know and what we imagine.