The main theme of the artwork is the portrayal of how to access the knowledge of the quantum world.

The centralized idea is mainly illustrated through the portal that lies right in the middle of the artwork. Here, a man is leaping through the portal, symbolizing the trajectory of accessing the other dimensions of the universe. This trajectory represents the means to understand the weirdness and paradoxes of the quantum world.

Specifically, one can interpret that the portal here represents the trajectory of the 2-dimensional to the 3-dimensional world. The artwork itself is 2-dimensional but the man who is coming out of the portal is a 3-dimensional figure. The position of the man’s hands symbolizes the freedom one feels when finally understanding the quantum world.

Little does the man know, there are even more dimensions to be accessed, showing that true freedom can never really be attained absolutely. This is represented by the fact that the key hole to unlock knowledge is embedded in the keys themselves. This illustrates the paradox of understanding quantum. Furthermore, this paradox of opening the keyhole by using the key from the keyhole depicts the limitations of the human being. One’s brain is inside the world of three dimensions, so no matter how far we delve into thought, there is always the limitation that halts the development of human knowledge and understanding.

This idea of limitation is also strengthened with the depiction of the brick wall. The brick wall represents the obstacles that the humans face in order to get through it and realize what is on the other side. This similarly relates to the concept of Plato’s cave and the concept of isolation.

Furthermore, the notion that paradoxes make sense is depicted through the use of 5 different keys as one key. The wave-particle duality is indeed mind-boggling, and thus, this paradox is represented through the fact that many different scenarios or worlds can exist at the same time. Even though it’s the same keyhole, one key will unlock a new world, and another will unlock another one – even though it’s the same keyhole at its roots.

Furthermore, this duality of worlds is depicted through the use of Wu Xing. Wu Xing is an ancient Chinese mnemonic device for systems with five stages of movements and elements. Through Fire (red), Earth (black), Water (blue), Metal (purple) and Wood (green), these five elements of energy illustrate a state of constant interaction and flux with one another. This shows the co-existence of all these elements which alludes to the co-existence of multiple worlds and state of beings. The Wu Xing is used to show this because this philosophy played a central and paramount role in all Chinese aspects of life. In addition, it contrasts popular Western though of substances. With Wu Xing, this concept surrounds the idea of dynamic states of change, and this is essential to better understand the quantum worlds.

Also, this sense of multiple worlds is depicted through Schrodinger’s cat. In Newton’s world, his cat is dead. But in Einstein’s world, the cat is alive. For humor, Newton states that Einstein killed his act. But Einstein replies that even though he “killed” the cat, the killing didn’t necessarily mean that cat is “dead.” This small play on words shows how the two worlds can somehow co-exist. In addition, the paradox of worlds is indirectly portrayed in this dialogue as well. Newton is not even in Einstein’s time, so it doesn’t make sense for them to talk to each other! But, yet according to Quantum, one is both dead and alive. So it happens to be that the alive version of Einstein co-exists with the world of the alive version of Newton. This indicates that a meshing of different dimensions somehow overlapped each other to bring about this possibility.

Also, Einstein and Newton are used to show the two different schools of thought throughout the age of science. One is Classical Newtonian physics of everything being the way we see it and then the other being Einstein’s views on Quantum Theory. The dialogue represents the clash between these two concepts, where Newton is mad that his cat has been killed, but Einstein knows all too well that there’s more to what meets the eye.

In addition to this concept of “meshing”, the concept of quantum entanglement is depicted through the two electrons floating in mid-air at opposite sides of the artwork. This relates to the idea of superposition – where the electron is actually one electron, but it is at two places at the same time, in the same “orbit.” Quantum entanglement and superposition are paramount concepts to the spookiness of quantum mechanics and it is essential that this representation is addressed here.

In relation to the orbits, the keyhole also represents the nucleus of the atom. This centralizes the idea that all information can be uncovered simply if we know what’s happening inside the nucleus. Because once we reach that stage, we can discover so much more about one’s world. Also, the keys here would add to the representation of being the pillars of the atomic structure that hold the orbits in place.

Furthermore, in the portal, light particles that are meant to be beaming out are used to show how the colors of the visible spectrum are individually different but collectively all white. This adds to the notion of co-existence in the quantum world and the fact that different worlds can be different but the same once it all fits together. Plus, the man coming out of the portal illustrates how he is breaking through the speed of light and going beyond any limitations or laws set in science.

Lastly, the art work also indirectly addresses the importance of perspective. The 2-d model here had the ability to enter the 3-d world. However, any object in our 3-d world would see how limiting the 2-d world is but, yet, the 2-d world here was able to jump into our world. This addresses the important issue of breaking through. We are still in the 3rd dimension and didn’t jump into another one yet. So, really, who is the one who has made the most progress? It also shows to us who is observing who through other dimensions. The 3-d man is finally able to see our world, but what about the even higher dimensions that are observing us?