Honoured to Join The Women’s Art Collection — Cosmoparticle (2017)

I am honoured that Cosmoparticle (2017) has been accepted into The Women’s Art Collection. This large oil painting (200 × 180 cm) was commissioned by University College London as part of the Cosmoparticle Initiative and was developed through months of close consultation with Professor Hiranya Peiris, Andrew Pontzen and Chamkaur Ghag. Working alongside their research allowed me to translate complex scientific ideas into a visual language that is both rigorous and poetic.

The painting was built in six distinct layers, each one interacting with the next. Through this layered process I sought to evoke a range of cosmic phenomena: the tracks of charged particles, the filamentary scaffolding of dark matter, the afterglow of the cosmic microwave background, the gradual emergence of galaxies and the rippling passage of gravitational waves. I also incorporated imagery derived from MRI scans of human brain blood vessels, drawing a subtle parallel between cosmic and biological networks and inviting a cross‑scale conversation between the neural and the cosmic.

In making the work I used the brush to “pull” forms through successive layers of paint — a physical gesture that mirrors the idea of emergence: out of layered complexity a coherent image appears. Viewers may also discover smaller, playful motifs — bubble universes, galaxy clusters, black holes, pulsars and geometric forms — and a quiet cultural reference in the form of the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I am grateful to Professor Hiranya Peiris for donating Cosmoparticle to The Women’s Art Collection in 2024. Being part of this collection feels deeply meaningful: it places the work within a wider conversation about women’s artistic practice and the many ways art can engage with scientific inquiry, imagination and wonder.