Elliot McGucken's Spacetime Light Cone Sculptures
Physicist-photographer Dr. Elliot McGucken suspends luminous light cones over remote landscapes in a long-exposure series inspired by Einstein's relativ...
By Art Vault
June 24, 2026 · 1 min read
All images © Dr. Elliot McGucken, shared with permission via Colossal.
Physicist and photographer Dr. Elliot McGucken brings cosmology down to earth in Spacetime Light Cone Sculptures dx4/dt=ic, a series of long-exposure photographs made across dramatic desert and coastal landscapes.
Using drones, light painting, and long exposure, McGucken traces hourglass-like forms inspired by Einstein's light cone: a way of visualizing the relationship between space, time, and the speed of light.
Physics in the Landscape
The photographs place glowing spirals above remote locations including the Trona Pinnacles and the Alabama Hills, turning the landscape into both a studio and a diagram. The result sits somewhere between scientific model, earthwork, and nocturnal apparition.
See more on McGucken's website and Instagram. Source: Colossal.
