The Cosmic Diagram from Eleni Maragaki on Vimeo.

drawing of the fragmented Universe
drawing of the fragmented Universe
drawing of the Universe
drawing of the Universe
prop of Planet no1 made out of paper and ink with dimensions: 24x24x24cm
prop of Planet no1 made out of paper and ink with dimensions: 24x24x24cm
hand drawn running figure
hand drawn running figure
hand drawn geometric background
hand drawn geometric background
Still no4
Still no4
The Cosmic Diagram screened in Safehouse 1, London
The Cosmic Diagram screened in Safehouse 1, London

The Cosmic Diagram

This animation engages with hypothetical scenarios about the ultimate fate of the universe, such as the ‘Heat Death’ and the ‘Big Crunch’. My main inspiration was Isaac Asimov’s “A Choice of Catastrophes”, a book describing all the ways that the world could end. The ideas of disorder and failure are present within The Cosmic Diagram. My intention was to depict the universe as the mortal entity it really is, as an imperfect, living organism, that fails to exist eternally. In this story, as entropy increases and the end of the world approaches, one of the last surviving humans is exploring space in order to find a safe place to live and escape this impeding catastrophe.

The Cosmic Diagram was created using scans of pencil drawings and photos of paper models. The film also demonstrates real mathematical calculations used for the creation of the ‘tetartoid pentagon’. This irregular pentagon is a key element for the creation of the Spaceship, used by the main character of the film to escape entropy. Here you can see parts of preparatory work along with the full video and stills.

The Cosmic Diagram was screened in LUX Moving Image, London.