How you can use this image

This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).

Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.

The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

During the 1980s Komar and Melamid’s repertoire expanded to include conceptual projects involving music, monumental sculpture. Symbols of the Big Bang, referencing the very moment of the creation of the universe, was the duo’s last major collaborative project in 2001–2003, exhibited first in New York, then in Moscow. Here, the artists used abstract, ancient and geometric symbols in a series of drawings and paintings, including the swastika, square and Star of David, to explore links between mysticism and science. This drawing is executed (like a mathematical problem) on graph paper, it overlays a sun-like element radiating in concentric circles, with a sinister, brooding block-like form. On closer inspection, the surface is dappled with Hebrew letters, creating a dynamic effect suggesting the explosive moment of creation.