Hoyle’s Dream

Turned bog oak, silver halide crystals (25x25cm) Work in progress 2023

Fred Hoyle was one of the first astronomers to prove that heavy and rare elements (such as silver) are created inside exploding dying stars, called supernova.

 Silver halide crystals (previously exposed to 5000-year-old starlight) have been extracted from photo-paper and presented in a turned 5000-year-old bog oak bowl as silver dust.

 The dust is shaped in the form of the M45 constellation, as it looked in the night skies above the tree when it was alive.

 Millions of years from now these same stars will die and implode, creating new supernovae, that will once more create elements like the silver contained inside this prehistoric wooden bowl.