Useless Science or The Alchemist (Mechanical Labyrinth) / Ciencia Inútil o El Alquimista (Laberinto Mecánico) (1958) by Remedios Varo (1908 - 1963) A grey figure sits on a stool, hand-turning a wooden wheel. The figure is draped in black and white checkerboard cloth, that merges with the tiled floor. The wheel has a drive belt, which links it to a contraption in a tall, open-fronted building with red rooves. There are several spires, topped with bells and filled with cogs and wheels. In the heart of the building, a glass cauldron glows and sends drips out along a spout to be collected in a bottle. alt text thenaks to Jen Phillips