Signal Failure (2026)

The Uber-Umwelt is a conceptual framework proposed by the American philosopher James Madden to describe an environment that exists beyond our limited, perceptual world (Umwelt). This uber-umwelt is a vast, transcendent reality that exceeds the biological constraints of human perception and is unknowable to us. It also draws on older philosophical ideas like Plato's Cave, where human perception only sees shadows of a much greater reality.

These drawings were made in the studio, imagined as a kind of echo of Plato’s cave, where what we sense is only part of a larger reality. The subtle influences of sunlight and sound are translated into marks that hint at something just beyond reach. In this sense, the work connects to Madden’s theory of a reality that exists beyond what we can fully perceive. The drawings remain open and unresolved, offering a contemplative surface to reflect on what cannot be seen or known.

Unlike Plato’s cave, where perception is a limited shadow of a single underlying reality, the über-umwelt suggests that reality can be understood as composed of overlapping worlds of experience. These drawings were executed with willow charcoal and charcoal pencil on cartridge paper, 59.4 cm x 84.1 cm, to offer the suggestion of many realities that coexist through different perceptual existences.

References:

Madden, James D. Unidentified Flying Hyperobject. Ontocalypse Press, 2023. Kindle edition.