Leah Wolff

Region: Northeast

When I was young, I went camping in the desert. Looking up at the sky, I was terrified by the number of stars. The realization that I was staring into infinity created a moment of cognitive vertigo. In my practice, I try to teach myself about systems that describe the workings of our physical environment—for instance astrophysics or String Theory—in an attempt to understand this infinity.

My process mirrors the scientific method of inquiry. After some preliminary research, I establish parameters, within which I make the piece. Common geometric patterns emerge that signify a map or diagram, yet they are ambiguous in meaning. Ultimately, the work exists as a relic of investigation that documents the space between knowing and understanding.

My creative practice focuses on our collective inability to meaningfully connect our individual experience to the reality of space and time. In so doing, my art becomes a tool to explore my own cognitive boundaries and to pull myself closer to that which I can’t fathom.