The works of Björn Dahlem (b. 1974, Munich, Germany) deal with questions of cosmology and the foundations of physics, for example the ‘M-theory’ which is still being sought as a coherent single super-theory to explain all physical phenomena. Simple materials and the technique of bricolage were used to create elegant structures with which Dahlem ‘tests and questions the borders between truth and faith, science and art, thought and form’, as Anne Ellgood notes. But Dahlem regards works such as The Expanding Universe (Big Bang) (2010) not as illustrations of scientific ideas, but rather as ‘fantastic landscapes’ and ‘mental habitats’ with metaphorical materials and a visual and conceptual poetic character which can stimulate feelings of awe and wonder in the beholder.