Everything is made of atoms. Sadly, our eyes cannot perceive atoms. They are too small. That is why many atomic models have been created over the years. There is a parallel with religions: we are trying to explain before life and after death.

The nature of human beings is always wanting to know more and taking a closer look at how things are made is expected from human beings. Having a closer look at something is still not enough for our eyes. You need to go even deeper; perhaps you’ll even have to resort to imagination. This is what AUBIN is all about. Wood, just like anything else in this world, is made of atoms. AUBIN allows having a closer look at the piece of wood, and at how scientists have seen this piece of wood over the years.

At the two extremes of the artwork, there is the hydrogen emission spectrum at the left, and the helium emission spectrum at the right. This refers to the second big idea in chemistry: Elements display periodicity. This detail displays the fact that elements show periodicity because of their different number of electrons. It also allows positioning the artwork in the right direction. This also raises the sixth idea which is Energy is conserved. When electrons go from the ground state to the excited state and vice-versa, it is the same amount of energy that is implied. When an electron goes from the excited state to the ground state, the electron emits energy and that is where the emission spectrum comes from.

From left to right, viewers see the different atomic models that have existed throughout time. In the first frame, we are dealing with Dalton’s Model, where atoms are simply filled balls. This might not have been discovered at the time, but in this frame, shapes of molecules are represented, showing that no matter what scientist thought about the atom, molecular shape is a crucial feature in chemistry, referring to Idea #4 in chemistry. The second circle demonstrates Thompson’s Model, The Plum Pudding, where positive and negative charges bathe. Just like Dalton’s Model, the atom is filled, only electric charges were added. Moving along, we arrive at the De Broglie Model, where the idea of waves with different wavelengths appears. Afterwards, we arrive at the Rutherford-Bohr Model. In the forth circular frame, we can see different orbits. The nucleus of the atom is not represented but, by logic, it should be situated over the frame. The space between each orbit is smaller as we move away from the nucleus. At the extreme right, the quantum mechanical model is represented. As we can see, the major part of the atom is composed of extreme black, showing that the biggest part of the atom is empty. The dispersion of electrons is also shown; there are more probabilities of finding an electron at the center, and less probabilities of finding an electron as we move away from the center.

In the middle of the artwork, where the colors of the background are clearer, we can see two grey atoms. Above the central circle, the two atoms are separated and there are a lot of clearer colors. When we go under the central circle, we see that the atoms are close and that there is a bond between them. At the same time, the clear colors are more squeezed. This indicates the third big idea in chemistry: Chemical bonds form when electrons pair.

All in all, some questions will never be answered in our world; the questioning of what happens before and after death, the questioning of the existence of God, the questioning of the existence of atoms, etc. Chemistry is abstract, just like abstract art. Human beings cannot be sure about the correctness of none of these atomic models. The title of the artwork is inspired by the name of one my friends, Aubin, who passed away last year. We will never know what happened to him after he died; we will never know how an atom really looks like; we will never know the truth.