Superposition shows three site-specific installations on the Yale campus conceived by Serena Scapagnini, in collaboration with YQI researchers during her year-long residency. This triptych displays Serena’s research on the nature of memory, integrated by the reflections on quantum memory, to face the internal system of nature itself. Heavily inspired by nature, the work grows like a Fibonacci sequence with each new location.
Inspired by Schrödinger’s cat states, it highlights the fascinating quantum phenomenon of superposition—where particles or light exist in multiple states simultaneously, such as being in two places or moving with two distinct momenta at once. Superposition creates intricate interference patterns, the hallmark of quantum mechanics, and Serena's work vividly showcases these patterns. She also explores how these patterns are disrupted by undesired interactions with the environment.
"The artwork is a stunning fusion of nature’s creativity in quantum optics, scientific ingenuity in harnessing these phenomena for error correction, and Serena’s artistic brilliance in translating the science into a visual spectacle."
he purest and simplest installation: a single gold platted copper plate engraved with a state of light throne above two copper plates, both engraved with the same state, A Shared Identity. This building block, matching the materials and techniques used by YQI researchers to build quantum computers, will become Serena’s quantum language in this series of work. An incredible amount of effort is spent by quantum researchers to encode information on quantum devices, and prevent any errors propagate. By engraving the pure state, Serena is trying to capture the perfect instant where the information is as intended on the edge of its natural dissolution.
4 legged cat state disturbed by the environment
Refractions is a site-specific installation in the atrium space of the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library at Yale University. The work investigates how information is encoded in quantum memory with states of light. Each one of the six suspended hand-made paper, created in Fabriano, Italy, encapsulates a thin plate of copper engraved with a quantum state. Like in a quantum device where the information is not accessible to the researcher with collapse of the information, here the states are not visible to the visitor without a destructive process.
“With the architectonic configuration of the panels and the deeply human and tactile use of paper,” said Florian Carle, curator of the Yale Quantum Institute AiR program, “we could have not dreamed of a more perfect location than the art library within the architectural school. We wanted this piece to serve as an invitation to explore the fascinating library collection on paper making and paper as an art medium.”
Read more about the installation on the Haas Family Arts Library website here.
State of Light is a permanent installation at YQI, inspired by Schrödinger’s cat states. It highlights the quantum phenomenon of superposition — where particles or light exist in multiple states simultaneously, such as being in two places or moving with two distinct momenta at once. Superposition creates intricate interference patterns that Serena engraves in their pure equilibrium before she explores how these patterns are dissolved in the interactions with the environment and how memory, lost, physically remains stored in the rest of the universe.
“Everything has physical storage, even memory,” Scapagnini said. “Refractions is a work on the edge between different densities—from the more physical to the more rarefied ones—to evoke remembering visions on the edge of their natural dissolution.”
The panels of paper are placed following the pattern within the plates, as a physical 3D representation of the state of light. The engravings and drawings are all facing inwards, forcing the visitor to peak into the quantum system to gain information.
Serena Scapagnini’s work is deeply rooted in interdisciplinary collaboration. For the past decade, she has focused her artistic research on neurons, working closely with Professor Michael Higley, a neuroscientist at Yale School of Medicine, on a project titled SYNAPSES, dedicated to exploring the mind. Using fluorescent neuroimaging techniques to visualize neurons, Serena creates media works that define an internal landscape, following the flow of neurons like the tributaries of a river, connecting through synapses to form the shapes of our thoughts. Her body of work spans painting, drawing, video art, and installations.
“Quantum physics is, at best, abstract for many people, so talking about quantum error correction — in which researchers attempt to correct errors that occur during quantum computation — is quite the challenge,” said Florian Carle, YQI’s managing director. “Serena’s medium is deeply physical: metal plates engraved with quantum states, handmade paper, drawings, and paintings. She is embodying abstract concepts in matter, representing the complex plots of researchers into areal and spiraling sculptures.”
During her residency, Serena focused on integrating the work of researchers on quantum memory into her collaborative installations. One of the three installations is called Refractions, a site-specific installation conceived in collaboration with Yale Quantum Institute researchers for the atrium space of the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library at Yale University. The work investigates how information is encoded in quantum memory with states of light. Each one of the 10 suspended hand-made paper element encapsulate a thin plate of copper engraved with a quantum state. Like in a quantum device where the information is not accessible to the researcher with collapse of the information, here the states are not visible to the visitor without a destructive process.
In her exploration of the osmotic relationships between cells—and more broadly, between structure and space—Serena creates spatial works supported by delicate copper cables, forming complex systemic organizations. These compositions suggest a rhythm that runs through overlapping papers, echoing natural dynamics. The proportions, order, and quality of these works evoke the geometric structures underlying various forms in nature. Paper, Serena’s preferred medium, is transformed as dense layers of paint on one part of the picture gradually evolve into ethereal forms, allowing the dendritic branches to dissolve into the white surface of the paper. Transparencies and the rarefaction of neurons on the empty white spaces create an environment where images rest, and perception unfolds into silence, as if thoughts could extend into a moment of transcendence.
Production: Florian Carle
Scientific Advisor: Harsh Babla
Modeling: Jason Nuttle
Engineering & engraving: Bob Pedros, Veloce Engineering, Oxford CT
Engraving: Incisum Incisoria Romana, Italy
Papermill: Manualis, Fabriano in Italy
Serena's artwork was featured on the flyer of the YQI theatrical production of Michael Frayn's Copenhagen. The featured artwork is an excerpt from Refractions.
When selecting a visual representation for "Copenhagen," the creative team was deeply moved by this artwork. Its soft, artistic depiction of quantum patterns reflects the imperfections and complexities of human relationships—central themes of the play. Additionally, the striking red pattern evokes the imagery of an atom, symbolically referencing the atomic bomb, a crucial topic within the narrative. This visual choice not only enhances the flyer but also deepens the connection between the play’s exploration of quantum physics and the nuanced portrayals of its characters.
Earlier in the residency, Serena delivered a public talk at YQI titled “The Shape of Thoughts: Down the Flowing River of Tributary Neurons,” as part of our non-technical talk series, where she shared insights into her work and practice.
