A central circle is the persistent motif of Unforgetting solar exposure, a grid of thirty-six new ink-and-watercolour paintings. Executed in muted, almost monochromatic tones, the works seem to capture the stages of an explosion, like Harold Edgerton’s rapatronic photographs of atomic tests. This series in fact reflects the relation between what the artist terms ‘voids’ and ‘solids’ – between the almost blank paper and the areas where paint has been applied. Since lighter hues in watercolours are achieved by diluting pigments with water rather than by adding white, the areas that seem the most luminous are those that contain the least amount of paint. For Eliasson, the artworks arise in this subtle dialogue between intense layers of paint and patches of almost bare paper, just as cities consist of both their built environments and the atmospheric spaces between buildings. Reminiscent of pinhole cameras or overexposed polaroids, they seem to capture light itself.
Artwork details | |
Title |
Unforgetting solar exposure |
Year |
2020 |
Materials |
Indian ink, watercolour and pencil on paper, set of 36 |