The Ultraviolet Catastrophe
Slightly over a hundred years ago, our understanding of nature and the universe was turned upside down by the discovery of quantum physics, which replaced Newtonian physics dating from the 17th century.
This scientific revolution was based in particular on the quantification of energy and on the fact that the elementary particles [1] that constitute matter act as both waves and bodies. It has now been demonstrated that these particles exist in the form of quantum fields, vector potentials that fluctuate throughout the universe.
The Ultraviolet Catastrophe [2] deals with this virtual character of matter. A 3-D installation, it is based on an experiment that Julie Tremble recently conducted at the Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires in Strasbourg, where the artist began a research residency in the fall of 2023. This experiment, mysterious and completely novel for anyone unfamiliar with quantum chemistry, involved modifying the properties of a molecule by combining it with a photon, or light particle. Both these particles were trapped between two mirrors placed at finely calibrated distances from each other. Oscillating between the two reflective surfaces, the photon entered into resonance with the molecule, which thereby acquired a new light/matter state that transformed some of its characteristics. [3]
Working with the reflected image, Tremble developed, from the concept of the light/matter state and the properties of matter at the quantum scale, an experimental and contemplative work of science fiction. On the installation’s three screens, a landscape inspired by that of northern Québec is explored simultaneously at macroscopic and quantum scales. The work takes us from realist images of a natural landscape several hundred kilometres in area to formal sequences that illustrate the smallest particles in the universe. It is as if we were looking through a lens with a focal length ranging from CERN [4] to a satellite.
Under the influence of a large-scale quantum disturbance, the elements of these different sequences gradually enter into resonance. Stirred by visual effects that reflect hybrid forms of light and matter, the plants and minerals that make up the environment lose their cohesion and stability.
Duplications, light spectra and electronic flickers are transmitted from screen to screen, dematerializing the digital landscape. Gradually, realism and abstraction merge to form hallucinatory environments where quantum processes are played out on a sensitive macroscopic scale.
The multi-channel, immersive soundtrack is by composer and sound ecologist Rehab Hazgui, whose composition explores the possibility of fusing quantum randomness with music, an interest born of her longstanding fascination with the use of imperfection and chance in music making.
Acknowledgments
Emilie Werner, Maciej Pienko, scientific advisors.
Ariane De Blois, Joseph Moran, Giulio Ragazzon, Claudia Bonfio, Jean-Pierre Aubé, Philippe Hamelin.
This project is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec as well as the support and trust of Plein sud.
Biographies
Julie Tremble is a video and animation artist. Nourished among other things by cinema, natural sciences, literature and philosophy, it is interested in the constituents of the universe, the states of matter and their representations. From different sources: articles and discussions with scientists, popular documentaries, digital simulations, communication documents from space agencies, she produces videos and animations where scientific data, documentary and science fiction intertwine.
Julie Tremble holds a Master’s degree in film studies from the Université de Montréal with an undergraduate in cinema and philosophy. Tremble’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at galleries including: Ludwig Museum (Budapest), Fonderie Darling, Dazibao, Galerie Joyce Yahouda (Montréal), Galerie Foreman, Sporobole (Sherbrooke), STUDIOTELUS of Grand Théâtre de Québec, Centre VU, (Québec) and festivals such as: Mirage (Lyon), Mapping (Geneva), Festival du nouveau cinéma, Festival des films sur l’art (Montréal), Images Festival (Toronto), Espace IM-Media, ARKIPEL International Documentary and Experimental Film Festival (Jakarta). In 2013 Tremble was the recipient of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) award for best work in art and experimentation presented as part of the 31e Rendez-vous du cinéma Québécois.
Rehab Hazgui is a composer and sound ecologist. Her artworks explore ways to learn new forms of languages through conscious listening and the relationship that beings have with their culture, heritage, society and landscape as involved and living participants. Her research examines the ways in which sound emerges through dynamic landscapes, including those that are biological, geophysical, and human consequences. Rehab Hazgui’s primary focus is on the act of listening to itself, as it relates to our perception of space, our relationship to it, and the profound level of engagement that our ears provide with the world.
In her music she is constantly exploring the endless movement of sound, repetition, and the use of silence as a third space to navigate between different forms of listening.
At the heart of her sonic research is the concept of achieving a synergetic cognitive interaction, which involves the seamless collaboration between human and machine to create an integrated and boundary-pushing musical performance. Her music is a unique and innovative experience that transcends traditional notions of music and technology, offering an unparalleled sonic journey for the listener. Her sonic creations challenge the listener’s perception of time and space, showcasing her distinct approach to sonic experimentation and exploration.
Rehab Hazgui’s work has been presented in many festivals and venues: Phonetics (Algiers), CTM (Berlin), Kikk (Namur, Belgium), Savvy Contemporary (Berlin), Phonetics (Saint Denis, Paris), Perte de Signal (Montréal), Sight & Sound (Montréal), The Mannheimer Sommer Festival (Mannheim, Germany); as well as countless workshops across Europe on building DIY synthesizer and audio devices.
