In Parallel Universe, Leah Piepgras unveils a new body of work that deals with how subtle shifts in a conscious state affect the relationship with the seen and unseen environment. Under a veil of cognitive science, physics, cosmology and the human time scale, she examines indefinable universal truths.
We are all made of stardust. We are as old as the stars. 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. The rest is composed of another five: potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. Under different heat and pressure we could have been rocks instead of people.
Consider that there are two timelines; the human timeline; one which has humans in its center, and pushes everything else outside of consideration. The other is that of the universe; one of rocks and trees and sky and earth. Parallel Universe presents the latter: a separate experience that exists in tandem with our own, found through a search for personal phenomena.
Piepgras’ process is rooted in the basic human need to navigate what we don’t understand and present an alternative reality. All of the pieces are made of multi-tudal components and repetitive processes. These pieces (the eyes, ears, mirrors, carbon) work together individually to dictate the final shape and installation. Crystalline forms become a variation of a thought structure, honed and purified, distilled down to a tangible manifestation.