We live in a world of worlds, many of which we will never experience directly because they are too extreme. Some are close at hand—the atoms in a tabletop, the sunlight on our faces. Others are separated from us by vast distances or deep time. The only way to reach these worlds is through the careful observation and imagination we call science. Our discoveries consistently exceed our initial imaginings, offering rich perspectives on the world and on ourselves.

We invest great resources and creativity in exploration, and this is understandable: the thrill of discovery is overwhelming. For good reasons, scientific findings are reported in particular ways, by scientists for scientists, who by their nature move quickly on to the next question. Yet there is a world of opportunity here: to find new ways of speaking about things we cannot experience through our senses; to bring abstracted findings from remotely sensed worlds into this one; to write them large with colour and feeling. In doing so, we may create new viewpoints, forge connections, and expand the space of our minds.

This manifesto proposes an entire field of art, working to the following principles:

Curiosity-driven
Works arise from a genuine attempt to understand some aspect of nature, alongside an equally strong curiosity about discovering the most fitting form of expression.

Organisation and clarity
Each work is grounded in careful analysis and deep understanding. Art is used to analyse, organise, and explain.

Generosity
The motivation is to give pleasure and offer understanding, without being didactic.

Optimism
Discovery is a hopeful activity. The works celebrate what we know and adopt an optimistic disposition—because well-placed optimism can be irresistible, powerful, and freeing.

Resonance
Form—colour, scale, design, material—echoes the ideas being explored.

Space
There is room for the mind to travel. Ideas are layered so that viewers can make associations and discover metaphors.

Economy
Nothing more is required, and nothing can be removed.

Beauty
The works aim to delight and lift the spirits.

Self-contained
Each artwork must stand alone, regardless of the scientific idea it draws from.

Tactility
Abstract ideas are made tangible through colour, texture, and form.

Universality
The work seeks themes that run across worlds, offering clues to the character of nature and to our ways of understanding it.

Aspiration to uniqueness
By expressing well-defined yet relatively unarticulated ideas, the work aims to arrive at images not previously imaginable, avoiding the derivative.

For everyone
The fruits are for everyone: offering new perspectives, bringing new ideas into everyday life, opening windows. The works picture our understanding—its reach, its limits, and its correspondences—and create space for the mind to travel.

Breadth
Though the project began in physics, its scope extends to all forms of knowledge about nature.

- Geraldine Cox, January 15th 2016

Updated 2026.