Sometimes I see an artist’s work and it just stops me in my tracks, or actually makes my jaw drop open a bit. That’s the reaction I had when I came across the work of Berndnaut Smilde. Artists have become so savvy with tools like Photoshop, that my first thought when I saw these beautiful images of clouds hanging in rooms was that they were digitally created. I was enjoying them in that context, but when I realized that they aren’t digital, I thought, “Wow, those are incredibly realistic looking—I wonder what type of fibers he used to make them.” And then I discovered that Smilde is actually making real clouds appear inside these spaces.
In what seems like a magical act, Smilde is perfecting the atmosphere in the room and then when the moment is right, making a cloud appear for a few moments and capturing it on film. To see the process, check out this short video. The cloud appears at minute 1:05 and again at 2:00. (Unfortunately the video is not in English—I wish I could understand what they’re saying!)
{Top two images by Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk via Berndnaut Smilde;
Third image by Andrea Leonetti via Berndnaut Smilde}
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for sharing, I really loved the work (the video is awesome). It made me think of the work of a Spanish photographer that you may enjoy: Chema Madoz (http://www.chemamadoz.com/ his cloud pictures, actually ). Also, no PS involved, which is quite refreshing nowadays!
Laura
That is absolutely breathtaking! I am in awe.
Woah! That is really haunting and awesome. I remember as a kid wishing you could get an actual cloud to show up in jelly-jar terrariums. I feel like the grown-up version of that dream just came true.
Really beautiful.
This is amazing. What I would give to have one of these beauts at home!