DARK MATTERS is an exhibition in collaboration with Arts at CERN and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics. The exhibition aims to explore the fundamental essence of life and the universe, and how so much of it remains a mystery to us. 

Deep dive into the unseen, the unknown and the unspoken – will we ever fully understand the forces at play in our own lives, both on an individual level and on a planetary and universal scale? Dark matter consists of a mysterious substance that does not present an interaction with electromagnetic forces, which means it does not absorb, reflect it, or emit light. In an era defined by the power of modelling data, technology and simulations, the search for dark matter can be seen as a symbol of the limits of our cognitive experience – how might it help us imagine new possibilities for life, and our relationships with non-human entities or systems?

Through local and international experimental projects – some developed in conversation with scientists and researchers – explore life and all the dark matter that flows through it, under it and collides with it.

DARK MATTERS is co-curated by Mónica Bello, Head of Arts at CERN and Tilly Boleyn, Head of Curatorial at Science Gallery Melbourne in collaboration with a curatorial panel of young people.