for the 14th shanghai biennale, nicolai has crafted a sound piece titled COSMOS (2023). this haunting mix of fourteen tracks — some dating from the past decade and others created especially for the work — is described by the artist as a “soundtrack” to the exhibition. concepts such as “dark matter” serve as reference points and structuring principles in a composition that reflects on the resistance of the universe to rational explanation.
several of the tracks sample electromagnetic recordings and acoustic signals from outer space, and each ask the question of whether and how our intellectual and imaginative models of the cosmos map onto its reality. in doing so, the work participates in a long tradition that can be traced back through the pioneering work of rocket scientist konstantin tsiolkovsky — from whose early writings nicolai takes inspiration — and the concept of japanese zen gardens as expressions in miniature of the whole universe. a soundtrack to an exhibition about the cosmos, nicolai's work might also be understood as a microcosm of a microcosm, a poetic attempt to give form to that which exceeds human reason.