Sean Noyce

SERIES: as Above, So Below

About this Series

As Above, So Below is a series of new media sculptures that connects celestial happenings with terrestrial events.

Scientific research has shown how the moon can affect everything from rising tides, to reproductive cycles, agricultural growth patterns, and more. The etymology of the word “lunatic” even suggested that lunar cycles can affect mental states, driving people to behave erratically during intense full moon cycles.

The landscape of the western United States serves as the muse for As Above, So Below, referencing its beauty, mystery, and mystical properties. Various data points are collected while visiting these sites, including constellations of the night sky, weather patterns, and topographic elevations. This data serves as the foundation for the computer generative elements in these sculptures, which are screen-printed onto plexiglas and mirror.

The kinetic sculptures in this series reference astronomical tools of antiquity, like the astrolabe, dioptra, sundial, and the Nebra sky disk, created during a time when mysticism and science were interwoven. But with the widespread implementation of the scientific method, science and mysticism separated, leaving folk practices like alchemy and esotericism to decline precipitously. The fallout from this schism has fostered the rise of literalism, pitting the definitive logic of science against the ascribed doctrine of religion. As Above, So Below reconnects the fields of knowledge with that which is mysterious.