We Were Here Once Before

Human beings are hardwired with a fascination to explore the unknown by pushing technology to its limits, and then pushing even further. We look up both physically and metaphysically seeking answers for the questions we cannot resolve, in order to fulfill our desire to know our place in the world, and in a greater context, the universe. Some turn to science for those answers, others seek them in the dogma of institutionalized religion. My recent work is intended to create a disjunctive alternate reality (akin to a parallel universe) which at a glance offers the suspension of disbelief, but when scrutinized it becomes more apparent that reality is not static. My intention is not to ask the viewer to believe in the reality that I have presented, but rather to ask them to engage in a manner of thinking that will entice them to question what reality is. This body of work is treated playfully as a way of instilling a sense of awe or wonder and to ambiguate the world. This is done in order to make the world seem as writer and philosopher Miguel Sicart states, “less formalized, less explained, open to interpretation, wonder and manipulation.” Were the moon landings faked? Does it even matter if they were if we cannot know definitively? How much of our everyday lives is dictated by what we see and the judgments we make on the truth of this often misrepresented world? This paradox is similar to the divergent ideas of creation; was it the result of a divine creator, or an explosion of matter radiating outwards at the speed of light from a infinitesimal singularity? As our understanding of reality evolves we formulate truths, and in time, we come to believe we have the answers to these questions and curiosities. We often choose to ignore a logical conclusion in favor of hope and wonder; the truth is like reality, it is a mirage that we desperately run towards in the desert hoping for salvation.