Beauty

Why do we find some things beautiful and others ugly? Philosophers have been debating this question for thousands of years, and more recently scientists have tried to answer it by studying how people’s brains behave when they view things they classify as beautiful. Yet, we still have no idea of what motivates our sense of beauty—our aesthetic sense—or how it might be explained by brain activity.

In What Matter Feels I argue that we prefer some shapes and patterns to others because of the way our perceptions are organised by certain kinds of interactions between energy and matter. This applies not only to the object we classify as beautiful itself, but also to the patterns of activity that perceiving that object produces in our nervous systems. In a sense, when we perceive beauty we become beautiful. 

The flower-like forms in this image are created using chemically volatile inks, which have a high level of ‘free energy’ relative to the marbling bath surface. This causes the inks to dissipate violently on contact. The other forms are more cell-like and cluster in patterns that orchestrate the overall design as the forces acting on all the matter in the marbling bath reach a state of equilibrium.  

Original artwork: 2023, Ink and paint on paper, 60 x 60 cm.

Posters are shown here at 40 x 30 cm (16 x 12 inches), 60 x 45 cm (24 x 18 inches), and 80 x 60 cm (32 x 24 inches).Our heavier-weight, white, premium matte paper has a natural, smooth uncoated

 finish that feels luxurious to the touch.

Features:

• The 200 gsm/ 80 lb paper weight makes it durable and long-lasting.
• We use FSC-certified paper or equivalent certifications depending on regional availability. It’s better for the people and the planet.
• Each poster is shipped in robust packaging, ensuring it arrives safe and secure.
• Paper sizes may vary slightly by region. For the US and Canada, the measurement is in inches, while for the rest of the world, it is in centimeters.
• It is printed and shipped on demand. No minimums are required.