Oz Volume 38
Article 6
1-1-2016
Nimbus Series Berndnaut Smilde
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Smilde, Berndnaut (2016) "Nimbus Series," Oz: Vol. 38. https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5853.1555
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Nimbus Series
Berndnaut Smilde
Nimbus The Nimbus works present a transitory moment of presence in a specific location. They can be interpreted as a sign of loss or becoming, or simply as a fragment from a classical painting. People have always had a strong, metaphysical connection to clouds and through time have projected many ideas on them. Berndaunt Smilde is interested in the temporary aspect of the work. It is there for a few seconds before falling apart. The physical aspect is very important, but the work, in the end, only exists as a photograph. The photo functions as a document of something that happened in a specific location and is now gone. Smilde produces striking images of “real” clouds suspended within empty rooms. Using a fog machine he carefully adjusts the temperature and humidity to produce clouds just long enough to be photographed. There is a unique ephemeral aspect to the work in which the photograph captures a very brief moment before the cloud dissipates and disappears again as mysteriously as it was formed. His choice of lighting and viewing aspect enables him to create a representation of the cloud’s physicality.
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In a separate new series of work, Smilde has started working with a material called aerogel also known as frozen smoke. It consists of 99.8% air and is the lightest solid material on earth. In these works aerogel hovers like an eerie translucent smoke over scaled-down models of buildings.
Image Credits Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus Bonnefanten, 2013, courtesy of the artist and Ronchini Gallery Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus Dumont, 2014, photo by Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk, courtesy of the artist and Ronchini Gallery Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus Green Room, 2013, photo by R.J. Muna, courtesy of the artist and Ronchini Gallery Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus Visual, 2013, courtesy of the artist and Ronchini Gallery
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