10000 Peacock Feathers in Foaming Acid

Research on the behaviour of soap films has led to a vast variety of optical, mathematical, thermodynamic and electrochemical discoveries since the time of the Renaissance. Domnitch and Gelfand use laser light to scan the surfaces of nucleating and dissipating soap bubble clusters. Unlike ordinary light, the laser’s focused beam is capable of crawling through the micro and nano structures within a bubble’s skin. When aimed at specific angles, this penetrating light generates a large-scale projection of molecular interactions as well as mind-boggling phenomena of non-linear optics. In contrast to former soap film explorations by scientists, mathematicians, and artists (the likes of which have included Newton, Chardin, Plateau and Rayleigh), here, a warped, ‘impossible’ space-time is invented.
The title stems from the Chinese expression, ‘the ten thousand things’, signifying the multiplicity of cosmic phenomena. Though it may become as thin as a single molecule, all ‘the ten thousand things’ are refracted through the sensitive skin of a soap bubble.