A small mirror is displayed on a white plinth. Blank Chinese scrolls are scattered below. A torch cranes in front of the mirror, projecting endless pulses of light onto its face.
Bouncing off the mirror, the beam creates a flashing spot of light on a scaled-up sheet of A-format white paper mounted on the adjacent wall. Is this paper an improvised cinema screen? A blank billboard? More likely: it is the makeshift white board of an impromptu lecture hall.
The torch’s ceaseless interrogation of the mirror’s blank face reveals an extraordinary effect: projected on the paper is a mathematical equation. Since there is no visible writing on the mirror and the torchlight itself is pure white, this inscription is seemingly without source.
The rhythm of the pulsing torch is a clue. Some might realise that this is Morse code, a method of communication that encodes meaning into pulses of sound or flashes of light. Dot dot dot. Dash dash dash. Dot dot dot. Some will recognise this specific sequence as defining the characters S–O–S, the international distress call: Save Our Souls.
So the message of anxiety from the interrogation lamp returns from the implacable bronze a mathematical response. But what is this scientific inscription? A few will recognise the projected formula as being one of the Alexander Friedmann equations, which are a set of methods used to describe the expansion of the universe; the mathematician demonstrated that the universe is either closed, flat or open. The particular example projected here results in an infinite ‘open’ universe.
Where does this leave us? The piles of empty scrolls tell us that true knowledge is not held by society’s gatekeepers. Instead, the physics equation reveals that wisdom is developed through the ages via rational examination of the physical matter of the universe and its properties.
The traditional magic mirror is, after all, the result of ancient artisanal knowledge: this expertise covers techniques for microscopically adjusting the surface of a mirror so that encoded information can bypass casual inspection yet be revealed to those open to enlightenment.
Mirrors have long been thought to have magical properties, even to reveal the future. This bronze mirror literally sheds light on the future of us all – but you have to be willing to see it.
– David Barrett
Art Critic and Lecturer
Art Monthly Deputy Editor
About Art Monthly:
Art Monthly is a magazine of contemporary art founded in 1976 by Jack Wendler and Peter Townsend. It is based in London and has an international scope, although its main focus is on British art. The magazine is published ten times a year (with double issues in the summer and winter) and is Britain's longest-established contemporary art magazine.
（中文翻譯）
一個小鏡子陳列在白色的基座上，周圍散落著空白的中國卷軸。一支電筒懸臂在鏡子前方，將無盡的光束投射在鏡面上。
光束從鏡子反射出來，在相鄰的牆上放大了一張A尺寸的白紙，上面顯示出一個閃爍的光點。這張紙是一個臨時的電影屏幕嗎？是一個空白的廣告牌嗎？更可能的是：這是一個臨時的講堂白板。
電筒不停地質問著鏡子的空白面，揭示了一個非凡的效果：在紙上投射出一個數學方程式。由於鏡子上看不見任何文字，而電筒本身的光線是純白色的，這個鏡面投射的方程式似乎沒有來源。
電筒的脈動節奏是一個線索。有些人可能會意識到這是摩斯密碼，一種將意義編碼成聲音脈動或光閃爍的通信方法。點點點。破折線破折線破折線。點點點。一些人將認出這個特定的序列代表著「S-O-S」，即國際求救信號：拯救我們的靈魂。
因此，來自盤問火燈的焦慮訊息通過堅定不移的銅鏡回應為一個數學答案。但這個科學銘文是什麼？有些人會識別出這個投射出來的公式是亞歷山大·弗里德曼方程之一，這是一套用於描述宇宙膨脹的方法；這位數學家述明了宇宙可能是閉合的、平坦的或開放的。在這裡投射的特定前設是一個無限「開放」的宇宙。
這給我們帶來了什麼？一堆堆空白的卷軸告訴我們，真正的知識並不由社會的門戶守護者所持有。相反，物理學方程式揭示了智慧是通過對宇宙物質及其性質的理性檢驗而發展起來的。
傳統的魔鏡畢竟是古老的工匠知識的結晶：這種專業知識涵蓋微觀調整鏡面的技術，讓編碼的信息得以避免隨意查閱，但對於那些開放接受啟迪的人卻能被揭示。
長久以來，人們一直認為鏡子具有神奇的特性，甚至可以預示未來。這個銅鏡字面上為我們所有人的未來帶來了光明，但你必須願意去看見它。
– David Barrett
藝術評論家及講師
《藝術月刊 (Art Monthly) 》副主編
有關《藝術月刊 (Art Monthly) 》:
《Art Monthly》是一本當代藝術雜誌，由Jack Wendler和Peter Townsend於1976年創立。該雜誌總部位於倫敦，具有國際視野，但主要關注英國藝術。該雜誌每年出版十次（夏季和冬季有雙月刊），是英國歷史最悠久的當代藝術雜誌。