Beyond their scientific importance, photographs of outer space have a spiritually intoxicating effect on humans. The astrophotographs in Abstracting Eternity aim to capture this feeling by focusing on nebulae and galaxy, the massive clouds of gas and dust in which stars and their galaxies are born. Because nebulae represent the universe in the process of creation, still relatively formless, they lend themselves to a degree of abstraction that appeals to me as an artist. This takes my images a step away from pure science. I never want viewers to forget, though, that the photographs capture the universe as it was billions of light years ago—an eternity that inspires awe, humbles us with our own insignificance, and puts our human troubles in perspective.

During the pandemic, I spent over a year camping around the desert in western Texas and used various equipment, including a telescope and a monochrome camera, to capture all kinds of color and luminance in the universe. This image shows the Christmas Tree Cluster.

“So when at times the mob is swayed
To carry praise or blame too far,
We may choose something like a star
To stay our minds on and be staid.”
—Robert Frost