Ken Grimes’s pieces in“The Truth Is Out There” partake of the style of cartoons, woodblocks, and also — thanks to the associations from the X‑Files reference in the title — the illustrations on the covers of the Golden Records aboard the deep space exploration vehicles Voyagers 1 and 2. Those contain information for any aliens that might find the record, starting with instructions on how to play the music and proceeding to a diagram showing the location of the origin of the mission, that is, us. Grimes’s work muses aloud whether scientific experiments activated a distant alien probe, the tone of voice making room for wonder, conspiracy, and the skeptical response to both: Probably not. And so what if it did?
“The Truth Is Out There” is one of three solo shows up at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art on Trumbull Street, running now through Jan. 14.
