WOLFGANG (2015-2016)
Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958) was an influential Austrian-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1945. He was also renowned among colleagues due to the ‘Pauli effect’: the story goes that when Pauli walked into a room, experiments failed and machines broke down. Despite dying before the photographic archive of the European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN was set up, Pauli is still present in many photographs – be it as a bust or portrait, on a blackboard, or in book form. Even accidents and strange events recall his existence. David Fathi, fascinated by this juxtaposition of science and superstition, used CERN’s archive photographs, some of which are edited, to compile a scientific ghost story. Wherein art, photography, history and science clash. The mystery and humour emerge from the highly imaginative games the viewer has to participate in to distinguish between science fact and science fiction.