An event horizon is a point of no return in space—a line beyond which we cannot see— and once we cross from which there is no return. There are two event horizons of which we know: those which surround black holes and the one pictured here, the cosmic event horizon, which races away from us in all directions and marks the boundary of our visible universe.

Conceptually, this painting diagrams the entire universe and it’s history—from the minor fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background which formed the gravitational seeds that led to the formation of stars and black holes, to our local space in the center, surrounded by the dust lanes of our own galaxy. The physical hole in the center of the piece is a void that reflects both the black hole at the center of our own galaxy, and the cosmic singularity that brought forth everything from nothing at the beginning of time. Larger image.

“Event horizon”
Acrylic on panel
36×36 in
2012

This painting is in the private collection of Gareth Doherty.