The Shadows of Webs

The thesis paper explores an interdisciplinary and research based practice as a means to interpret the intricacies of webbed patterns in the universe. It examines the existence of patterns at a microscopic and macroscopic level in order to reinterpret them in a contemporary art context. The practice draws on theories from philosophers, mycologists, ecologists, and physicists such as Michel Foucault, Suzanne Simard, Lisa Randall, Bernie Krause and Carl Sagan. Through an investigation of their ideas, the paper highlights the presence of these patterns in nature and as an artistic influence. The structure of webbed patterns in fungi, the human body, land, roots, the cosmos, and animal architecture are a continuation of the artistic investment in biological patterns, large and small. The thesis artworks discussed here will emphasize how a research based practice is intertwined with material, form and process through a series of installations. This interdisciplinary and process based research practice builds an awareness of the pervasive patterns in the universe.