For CLOUD ABOVE, CLOUD BELOW, The Observatory Project (NZ) and Fernando Cremades (ES) have observed two clouds inside glass chambers at the antipodes of the Earth: drawing a line between Tāmaki Makaurau in Aotearoa and Madrid in Spain. In order to observe the trace of a radioactive particle moving through the immediate environment, we had our head in the clouds, under a blanket. Our eyes were each fixed on the local atmosphere inside a fish tank as the cloud started to form. Observations began, and we noted when we thought we saw something. The conditions had to be right: calm (no wind), gentle precipitation, and supersaturation. In a cloud of isopropyl alcohol, temporary trails reminiscent of those left in the sky by jets appeared as radioactive particles zipped through the chamber and our bodies. Identifying different shapes as they materialised in the vapour, we called out to each other cloud above, cloud below.
Exhibition opens: Thursday 7 August, 5.30pm, with refreshments by Liberty Breweries
Hours: 12 – 4pm, Tuesday – Saturday
Closes: Saturday 30 August
Special event: Saturday 16th August, 2pm.
Public observation.
The Observatory Project is an ongoing collaborative art project that explores and critiques the site of “the gallery” and “the observatory”. This project operates at the intersection of art and science, by using sound as a means to diagram, interpret, and imagine scientific processes of observation. Converting data into sound as an interpretive tool is a current trend in scientific data analysis to provide an alternative perspective to visual representation. We are interested in the subjective nature of this process, and how this can be manipulated to serve the politics of individuals and institutions. Using installation we designate spaces within galleries and observatories as institutions in and of themselves, with their own sovereignty and politics. These produce physical and temporal experiences that poetically explore and critique the structures they emulate.
https://observatory-project.info
Fernando Cremades was a Researcher in Residence at Medialab Matadero Madrid (2022-2023). Part of his research is focused on the observation of natural micro bio-systems and thinking of new ways of the organization of life. After studying art and architecture at the European University in Madrid, he moved to New York to conduct research at New York University’s Environmental Health Clinic and collaborate with scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on explorations of the capacity of radiotrophic fungi to reduce hazardous radioactivity and their deployment in radioactive contaminated sites. His work has been exhibited at Matadero Madrid, CC Convent Sant Agustí, Casa Elizalde, Fundación Bilbao Arte, Laboral Arte y Creación Industrial, Sant Andreu Contemporani, Sala de Arte Joven, Museo de Artes Decorativas Madrid, Sala Amadís, Apexart, COAM, Centro de Arte de Segovia, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, ETSAM, AEDES Berlin.