Quantum mechanics sits uncomfortably with “conventional reality,” defined as knowable, objective and mind-independent. There seems to be no consensus among physicists as to what the findings of quantum mechanics mean for conventional reality. Drawing on concepts of quantum mechanics, the author makes artworks that provoke viewers to doubt conventional reality. Here, she discusses two of her interactive “mind works,” which provide not only artistic metaphorical representations of quantum concepts but also quantum random events that allow viewers to test their beliefs, or otherwise, in a reality that is objective and mind-independent.

ABSTRACT The counterintuitive phenomenon of quantum superposition requires a radical review of our ideas of reality. The author suggests that translations of quantum concepts into visual art may assist in provoking such a revision. This essay first introduces the concept of quantum superposition and points out its divergence from conventional perceptions of reality. The author then discusses how visual art might provide insight into quantum superposition. Finally she discusses the visual representation of quantum superposition by contemporary artists Jonathon Keats, Julian Voss-Andreae, Antony Gormley and Daniel Crooks; the problematic and paradoxical nature of such representations; and how these works might provoke a revision of our views of physical reality.