Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe
or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.
Arthur C. Clarke
(science fiction writer, inventor)
As kids growing up in the 60’s, we were led to believe that in
the future as adults we would be taking our kids to the moon on holiday.
Science was all the rage and much of what was still science fiction back then
is now commonplace in our 21st century civilisation. Although many predictions
have come to pass (not the moon one though) some that failed to materialise now
seem totally mad and way off the mark.
Arthur C. Clarke for example, can be
seen on TV predicting that in the future we will be able to communicate
(conduct our business is what I think he said) instantly with anyone anywhere
in the world without even knowing where that person is. Dead on, and that was
before global TV transmission, in the days of electric telephones connected by
wires and when PC’s and even video had yet to be invented. He also predicted in
the next sentence that our future labour problems would be alleviated by
using genetically modified chimps as servants! It just shows that predicting
the future, or prophesying as some would say, is a precarious business.
In our contemporary world we are still fairly addicted to science and
like to quote “the science bit” to prove our point. We employ the science bit to back up so many arguments and have even used it to prove the
non-existence of God. However, when the science bit uncovers or proposes
something we don’t like, it’s so typically human to quietly ignore it hoping
it’ll just shut up after a while.
Take the whole “is there life out there” debate as an example.
Is there life out there among the billions of stars with their many billions of
habitable planets? Of course there is. Logic and sheer probability says there
must be. BUT, the science bit has also said that it may only be simple single
celled life forms. Why? Well, the “ fateful encounter hypothesis” states that
mathematically, complex life, never mind intelligent life is likely to be much
rarer than we have previously assumed. Because of the evolutionary bottleneck
inherent in the development beyond simple life forms (it's all down to the very
lucky formation of eukaryotic cells with mitochondria) complex life forms,
therefore intelligent life could actually be considered a galactic or universal
rarity. In fact it's considered so unlikely it may only have happened the once.
So what’s my point here (I don’t mean the point of my
existence here in this studio typing my blog post)? Well, as a lover of all
things scientific I totally relate to something that Professor Brian Cox said in a BBC TV
program here in the UK on this topic a few years back. He said that in fact we
may be alone in the universe after all. More important though was his response
to this statement. In that case, he said, that makes us very precious indeed.
And if we are unique, surely we have
an extra responsibility to look after ourselves, our planet and all
life on it.
A bit about the new work
Regular readers of this blog may by now realise that what I
write here isn’t “about” the new work but is something that relates to it. The
new mezzotint “as fools rush in” is based on the quote “fools rush in where
angels fear to tread” by Alexander Pope in his 1711 poem An Essay on Criticism.
The phrase alludes to inexperienced or rash people attempting things that more
experienced people avoid. This mezzotint also suggests that there are
consequences of rash decisions by our less mature political leaders.
Interestingly and quite coincidentally, the angel looks like she is leaning
forward and about to snuff out the burning fuse on the bomb, like someone
has to take control and sort out the mess!
A compliment to this work might be the etching “two shades of hope” (many thanks again as always Foy). I said shades, not sides...well, Foy said it first but hope is so multifaceted in my experience. The
lower text states that the abolition of order leads to the escalation of chaos.
In this etching there is a dove on an olive branch facing another dove on the
end of a gun barrel. Perhaps I was thinking about the idea of guilty silence in witnessing persecution/racism (the
sleeping dove on the end of the gun?) and of speaking out for those who seem to
have little or no voice of their own. As I've said before, freedom of speech is
not absolute and comes with responsibilities (the theme in the two small
mezzotints also launched here).
The collage JerusalemDove speaks for its self.
.
