For many, art and science are still seen as distinct approaches to understanding the world around us. While qualities like intuition or creativity are integral to both practices, the rules they play by are quite different. Artists tend to ask subjective, open-ended questions whose answers depend on your perspective. On the other hand, scientists combine reason and experimentation in the hope of uncovering a common, objective view of reality.

Cosmic Titans: Art, science and the quantum universe, an immersive exhibition at the Djanogly Gallery at the University of Nottingham, UK, challenges this entirely. The installations emerged from years of collaboration between nine artists and leading quantum research labs across the UK. These works don’t just reflect scientific ideas, they also offer new understandings that directly contribute to research.