Sketches of Meteorological Phenomena continues an investigation of phenomena at the edges of visibility and knowledge, through the reimagining of naturally-formed objects called ‘fulgurites’. From Latin fulgur, meaning thunderbolt, fulgurites are created instantaneously when lightning strikes sand or particular soils to form glass tentacle-like objects. These unexpected forms freeze a temporal moment and give it solid form. Much of Mitchell’s work is concerned with producing a tension between the seen and the unseen — both through suggested forces and experimental demonstrability. In particular, this work explores a form of ‘plastic invisibility’, investigating territories of transformation between different states of energy-matter and seeking to frame and invoke material and sensory qualities that are marginal, unstable, dynamic and durational. The choice of material in order to investigate these territories tends to embody this logic — qualities immanent to a material’s nature or being. In Sketches of Meteorological Phenomena, glass: a shape-shifting material, simultaneously ancient and modern, liquid and solid or some alchemical in-between, was used to ‘draw’ glass fulgurites on and in undulating sand, by pouring hot molten glass directly on it. These thousands of glass forms begun as an attempt to render weather concrete, yet enmasse they become many images: of frozen water; root systems pulled from the ground; rain-made-concrete; bodily fluids-made-fruitless; a lightning field.
History
Add to Elements
Yes
NTRO Output Type
Original Creative Work
NTRO Output Category
Original Creative Work : Visual artwork
Place
Lyon, France
Venue
Institut d’art contemporain (Institute of Contemporary Art), Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes, Lyon, France
NTRO Publisher
Institut d’art contemporain (Institute of Contemporary Art), Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes, Lyon, France
Medium
Glass
Research Statement
This work investigates meteorological phenomena through sculptural practice. It explores gaps in how we perceive and document weather's physical impact, examining how formless weather is given tangible form. The work explores the possibility of 'capturing' ephemeral atmospheric events, exploring the territory between visible evidence and invisible forces.
The work innovates through its methodological approach of using molten glass to recreate naturally occurring fulgurites, developing new ways to materialize atmospheric phenomena. This process reveals the possibility of "drawing" with glass to capture weather's traces. The resulting forms affect viewers both aesthetically and conceptually, making tangible the usually intangible relationship between weather events and their material consequences.
This work has been exhibited multiple times and is held in an important museum collection in France. It was exhibited as a solo booth at the prestigious Art Basel Hong Kong (presented by Swiss gallery RaebervonStenglin) in 2014; It was also in a solo exhibition at Hopkinson Mossman titled 'Aeromancy' in 2017 and then exhibited at Institut d’art contemporain (Institute of Contemporary Art), Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes, Lyon, France. It is now in the permanent collection of the Institut d’art contemporain (Institute of Contemporary Art), Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes, Lyon, France. It has subsequently been exhibited at the Institut d’art contemporain since being in the collection in a group exhibition titled 'Pratiques Cosmomorphes - (Ré) Générer Le Vivant' in 2024.