A continuous series of clouds, generated by a silvery machine-like sculpture, float over their surroundings and then slowly dissolve into thin air. This seemingly natural phenomenon can be observed in strangely repetitive patterns.
Ethereal Fleeting
Its formation is programmed and conceals an algorithmic poem, coded in the winds. The air is used as an ephemeral storage medium, its content gradually dissolving over time. This is a metaphor for our modern societies, where we are constantly – both consciously and unconsciously – writing our stories in the atmosphere, and manifesting energy into tangible, if transient, forms.
This installation is an attempt to synthetically reproduce a natural marvel outside its expected context. Though it might seem doomed to failure, it raises various questions regarding how we interact with our environment, and our desire to imitate – and eventually control nature.
Ethereal Fleeting, Lukas Truniger (CH), Itamar Bergfreund (CH), Bruce Yoder (US)
Credit: Lukas Truniger
Ethereal Fleeting, Lukas Truniger (CH), Itamar Bergfreund (CH), Bruce Yoder (US)
Credit: Lukas Truniger
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Project Credits / Acknowledgements
Concept: Lukas Truniger, Itamar Bergfreund, Bruce Yoder
Artistic direction & visual design: Lukas Truniger
Structural design: Itamar Bergfreund, Lukas Truniger
Scientific consulting: Bruce Yoder
Software design & development: Adele Lin, Sophi Kravitz, Mat Pinner, Lukas Truniger
Support: Burning Man 2018 Honoraria Art Grant, Mirage Festival
This project is co-funded by the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, in the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union under the S+T+ARTS programme’s Regional STARTS Centers.
Biography
Lukas Truniger’s work is driven by the intangible, the invisible, and the complex in nature –such as emergence and biological interactions– and in society, in the form of language, (artificial) intelligence, and human infrastructure. He creates singular experiences that challenge modalities of perception as multimedia installations, sculptural objects and audiovisual performances.
Ethereal Fleeting was developed together with architect Itamar Bergfreund and research scientist Bruce Yoder.
