Single-channel video with sound (20:00 mins); drawing on paper (1519 x 2700 mm)

Yu-Chen Wang’s work develops a poetic narrative of the histories of scientific research: pulling images and references from both personal and institutional archives related to scientists she interviews. We aren’t able to prove that just yet... establishes parallel lines between individual stories and historical documents available at the institutions where Wang has been researching.

This work focuses on the abstract photographic images produced by the Bubble Chamber experiments in the 1960’s. Wang was fascinated not only about what they detected –the paths of short-lived electrically charged particles– but also the whole process which surrounded their documentation and interpretation.

In particular, the individuals whose job it was to interpret these images became a focal point for her work: their intensive, unseen labour became a metaphor for how scientific findings are communicated to the public, highlighting both the difficulty of translation and the absence of many of those who stand behind major discoveries. Wang has undertaken extensive research for the project, building an archive from images, and interviews with scientists. Over the course of the exhibition she will continue her research, and the video will be updated, expanded and altered as a result of this, generating multiple versions, scenarios and outcomes of the work.