Chicago Project artist Jacob Watts shared with us a new body of work entitled Building a Universe. Jacob’s curiosity in the Pleiades star cluster led him to research ancient mythology, and apply it to a modern re-telling of the tale:
“I remember being very young when I first saw the Pleiades star cluster. Peering into the summer night sky, watching the faint lights twinkle, I wondered why no one else around me seemed fascinated with it. That night burned into my memory and my interest in the cluster emerged again as an adult. Research revealed to me that many other people were fascinated with it: almost every other civilization for thousands of years had their own mythology about the Pleiades. The story was told in many different ways, but a common thread involving the Seven Sisters was ubiquitous. Believing that this ancient story should be given new life, I wanted to create my own version to pass on its tradition of storytelling. Building A Universe is a modern retelling of the mythology of the Pleiades and the Seven Sisters in the realm of science fiction.
“Using a process of photography rich with photo-manipulation, the images follow a story of the Seven Sisters on their journey to help a dying Earth from the destruction of nature. Hailed to the last civilization, Aymatoposem, the Sisters discover the planet’s nature is being consumed by large cube structures. Having been hailed by a man named ‘The Inventor,’ they travel to his laboratory to find his book he left behind for them. This book holds writings and blueprints to build machines for different tests to run on the large flying structures, and maybe even stop them.”
You can see the full Building a Universe story on Jacob’s website.
Catherine Edelman Gallery 