Spacetime is a complex and important model, one essential to understanding how light travels and how the Webb Telescope works. Hourglass shapes typically appear in representations of spacetime concepts, including past events, event horizons, future events. In this case, the hourglass motif has been supplemented with diagrams and equations also used to represent spacetime. This particular hourglass has been altered to be hexagonal, to resemble the mirrors of the Webb Space Telescope.

Humans are limited in their ability to perceive time in its abstract, conceptual sense. Accordingly, artists and scientists resort to metaphorical representations. In an eternal and recursive effort, ever more time is spent attempting to represent the concept of time itself, and hours more are spent in contemplation of those concepts. “Spacetime” captures a singular moment in that endeavor.