Glynn Gorick: : "Circle Painting" This painting shows a scale of sizes from the smallest spaces inside silicon atoms at the centre of the picture, to the largest spaces between stars at the outer edge. Silicon is the second most common element in the Earth's crust, and is found mainly in quartz. The pattern in the centre represents silicon atoms, inside quartz crystal plates, making a single grain of sand. As the scale changes the grains appear smaller. The total number of sand grains on all the beaches of the Earth has been likened to the total number of stars in the Universe. The water cycle flows around the picture, eroding mountains into sand, which may be reformed as rock and folded into mountains again. From small to large, the shapes of the Earth's material are similar. This fractal effect is common in nature.