The box universe theory describes “now” as an arbitrary place in time and states that the past, present, and future exist simultaneously.

If this is true and time is circular, everything is present at once. So the fungi that paved the way for life on earth billions of years ago, the first rock turned into a tool, the last individual in space, the first ritual and the last, are all present and reverberating here and now.

Animism allows us to see all sensible and living things, and physics allows us to see ourselves as part of a whole, since atoms are the basic components of matter. Abstraction sits somewhere in between these two concepts, creating forms that echo the past, but look to the future.

Sacred places that have been continuously visited have a particular resonance, as if all times were present in them at the same time. Old Futurism is important in a world where science fiction quickly becomes scientific fact.

We must learn from our ancestors to build a sustainable future. Sol Bayley Barker’s investigation of civilization through its symbols and archetypes results in a timeless and innovative body of work. By finding connections between different societies throughout the ages, it comes to represent our desire to go beyond the everyday and connect with something bigger than ourselves.

We’ve been obsessed with objects of power from the holy ax to the cross for millennia. We’ve continued to empower items far beyond their fair share of importance and boost them well beyond their capabilities.

It is our collective reverence that makes the objects of power what they are and that has embedded them with compelling resonance over time.