The Holographic Universe Theory of Art History (THUTOAH)
Single-channel video (16:54 mins) with sound (51:16 mins); 21 giclée prints (each 210 x 297 mm)
In The Holographic Universe Theory of Art History (THUTOAH), Suzanne Treister investigates the holographic principle and the theory that our universe could be a vast and complex hologram, and hypothesises that, beyond acknowledged art historical contexts and imperatives, artists may have also been unconsciously attempting to describe the holographic nature of the universe.
Projecting over 25,000 chronological images from art history (from cave painting to global contemporary art, including outsider and psychedelic art), Treister’s video work echoes conceptually the actions of CERN's particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), accelerating at 25 images per second in a looped sequence. Alongside this colossal library of images is a soundtrack of interviews with watercolours by the scientists at CERN that aim to describe the holographic universe principle.
THUTOAH hypothesizes a reality that has perhaps been intuited over the ages, a reality beyond the already documented intentional depictions of spiritual, mystical or transcendent realities or altered states of consciousness; the reality of the holographic nature of the universe.
Suzanne Treister was in residency at CERN as part of Collide 2018, Arts at CERN's flagship residency programme in partnership with FACT Liverpool. THUTOTAH was developed as part of the Award, and was co-produced by ScANNER. This work has been exhibited in the international touring exhibition Quantum/Broken Symmetries (2018-2021), and in the Sapporo International Art Festival in 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Annely Juda Fine Art, London and P.P.O.W., New York.
Suzanne Treister would like to thank everyone involved in the Collide International Award and exhibition, in particular Mónica Bello, José-Carlos Mariátegui and the participating scientists at CERN, and very special thanks to Joasia Krysa for her initial crucial involvement and inspirational presence.